Frazier Glenn Cross, 80, the man who was convicted of killing three people at Johnson County Jewish facilities, has died in the El Dorado Correctional Facility in south-central Kansas.
The Kansas Department of Corrections announced Cross died on Monday. An autopsy will determine cause of death, but they believe it to be from natural causes.
Cross, also known as Frazier Glenn Miller, was sentenced to death for the shootings at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park and the Village Shalom retirement center.
He represented himself in court and testified that he didn't expect to live long after the April 2014 shootings because he had chronic emphysema. It's unclear if that contributed to his death.
William Corporon, 69, and his grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, 14, were killed at the community center. Terra LaManno, 53, was killed at the retirement center.
The Corporon family said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that they are "neither happy nor sad" about Cross' death.
"He stole so much from our family, but he didn’t steal our hearts or our dignity," the family said. "He did not steal our memories, the love that sustains us or the ability to offer forgiveness and kindness in the face of such tragedy."
While they said in the statement that they have forgiven "this murderer his sins against us," that does not mean "his actions were correct."
"Our forgiveness releases the hate from our own hearts," the Corporon family said. "Hate comes in all shapes and sizes, all colors and creeds. We pray that our healing journey helps others move forward during their own struggles and challenges. Don’t allow hate to occupy your heart or mind. It will rot you from the inside out."
Cross was targeting people in the Jewish community, but all three killed were Christians.
According to the Associated Press, Cross is a Vietnam War veteran who founded the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in his native North Carolina and later the White Patriot Party. He also ran on a white-power platform during campaigns for the U.S. House in 2006 and the U.S. Senate in 2010 in Missouri.
Cross appealed his death sentence in March of 2021, with his lawyer claiming he was incapable of understanding the intricate legal process when Cross represented himself in the trial.
In the wake of the shooting, the Corporon family founded the Faith Always Wins Foundation and SevenDays annual event. Mindy Corporon, who lost her father and her son, recently authored a book on the tragedy.
