In August 2010, retired couple and former high school sweethearts Gary and Linda Haas embarked on their annual vacation from Oklahoma to Colorado in their truck with a trailer in tow.
Unfortunately, while en route, they encountered violent escaped convicts John Charles McCluskey and Tracy Allen Province. An encounter which tragically cost them their lives.
On July 30, McCluskey and Province escaped from an Arizona state prison with the aid of McCluskey’s girlfriend Casslyn Mae Welch, who provided them with wirecutters and handguns. A third inmate had also escaped with them but got separated from the others and was recaptured two days later.
The trio first kidnapped a pair of truckers and stole their truck before driving to Flagstaff. Leaving the truckers at a rest stop, they then robbed a sedan car before deciding they should target a camper or trailer so they could get some rest.
The escaped convicts targeted Gary and Linda Haas
At a New Mexico rest stop, they came across the Haas couple and kidnapped them, taking their truck and trailer in the process. Once the group had reached a secluded area, McCluskey shot the elderly couple at point-blank range.
The criminals then set fire to the trailer with the Haases’ bodies inside. They later abandoned the truck at an Albuquerque shopping center.
On August 4, investigators located the Haases’ bodies. A few hours later, they found their truck in Albuquerque. Despite the efforts of the fugitives to wipe down the vehicle, the cops managed to pull fingerprints and DNA from the interior.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelThe ensuing multi-state, multi-agency search led to Province being apprehended in Wyoming on August 9. McCluskey and Welch were arrested ten days later at an Arizona campsite. On capture, McCluskey instantly incriminated himself as he was wearing Gary Haas’s John Deere cap.
At McCloskey’s subsequent trial, Prosecutor Fouratt incredulously asked the jury, “I just have to ask you guys: Who wears a dead man’s hat? Is this some kind of trophy?”
McCluskey was charged with the couple’s murder and was sent back to prison for the rest of his life; he also received an additional 235 years. Province was given five consecutive life terms, and Welch got 40 years.
More from See No Evil
Follow the links to read about more murders investigated on See No Evil.
Antolin Garcia-Torres abducted and murdered 15-year-old schoolgirl Sierra LaMar has she made her way to her school bus. Despite no remains being recovered, he was convicted of murder and sent to prison for life.
Previously on See No Evil, Michael Russo had been harassing staff members at his local 7-Eleven store for some time. Then in 2015, he entered the store and shot dead 18-year-old store clerk Kyle Farishian before attempting to set the premises on fire.
See No Evil airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.