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Murder of Rob Andrew

James Pavatt and Brenda Andrew were Sunday school teachers at a church just outside Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Pavatt was also friends with Brenda’s husband and the father of her two children, Rob Andrew.

At some point, Brenda and Pavatt started sleeping together. Brenda could have sought a divorce from Rob, but instead, she and Pavatt decided murder was a better option.

Pavatt was an insurance salesman and sold Rob an $800,000 policy with Brenda as the beneficiary in the middle of 2001.

Weeks later, Rob’s brake lines were cut, and someone called him lying, saying Brenda was in the hospital. They hoped he would die in a crash rushing to see her, but that plan failed.

In plan 2, Brenda lured Rob to the garage when he came over to pick up the kids. She told him that the furnace was acting up. While he was distracted, Pavatt snuck in and shot him. Some believe that he handed the gun to Brenda so that she could finish off her husband with the final shot. With Rob dead, Pavatt turned the gun toward Brenda and shot her in the arm.

Pavatt hid in the home next door while Brenda called the police, saying two intruders ran into her garage and shot her and her husband.

The sloppy murder landed both on death row.

Execution Date Is Set

KOCO reported on August 27th, 2026, that the Oklahoma Court of Appeals had scheduled Pavatt’s execution for November 12th, 2026. His attorneys immediately pushed back against the upcoming punishment, feeling there was never any concrete proof he was the shooter. Lead attorney Hunter Labovitz told the media. “There’s absolutely no credible evidence that Jim shot and killed Rob Andrew, and that’s what he’s under a sentence of death for.”

Clemency Hearing

OKCFox reported on September 18th, 2026, that his lawyers were seeking clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. They claim that in court, “The State asserted over and over that Brenda Andrew was the sole shooter of Rob Andrew.” Pavatt’s lawyers also say he has been a model prisoner while locked up.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond wants the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to deny the clemency request. The hearing went down on October 14th, and it didn’t go as Pavatt and his lawyer had hoped. The 5-person panel voted 3-2 to deny clemency. Even though they voted against clemency, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has the final word and could stop the execution.