Oklahoma executes Kevin Underwood for murder of beloved 10-year-old girl

This story includes graphic descriptions of crimes committed against a young girl.

Oklahoma executed Kevin Ray Underwood on Thursday for killing a 10-year-old girl in April 2006, making him the fourth inmate executed in the state this year and the 25th in the nation.

Underwood was executed by lethal injection on his 45th birthday, according to Kay Thompson, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Underwood was declared deceased at 10:14 a.m. local time, the Department of Corrections shared with Paste BN.

Underwood was convicted in the murder of his neighbor, Jamie Rose Bolin, who he beat with a wooden cutting board, suffocated to death and later raped and mutilated at his apartment in Purcell, a small community about 40 miles south of Oklahoma City.

Underwood's attorneys have spent the better part of a decade arguing in state and appellate court that he is a "profoundly ill man" worthy of mercy.

"I recognize that although I do not want to die … I deserve to for what I did," he said in a tearful two-minute statement Friday at his clemency hearing. "And if my death could … change what I did, I would gladly die."

Underwood was executed the day after Indiana executed Joseph Edward Corcoran, the first death row inmate executed in the state in 15 years.

Here's what to know about Underwood's last execution, his last words, the case and the victim.

'This does not bring our Jamie back,' sister says

Lori Pate, Jamie's sister, thanked everyone who worked to get justice for Jamie on the family's behalf.

"We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Office of the Attorney General and the hard work and determination demonstrated by the prosecutors, investigators and all involved who have not only held the responsible party accountable but have also provided a sense of closure for our grieving family," Pate said in a statement. "We would also like to send out a heartfelt thanks to Greg Mashburn who has been with us since the beginning."

Jamie's family acknowledged the execution marks the end of a very painful chapter; one they will now begin to work on healing from.

"This doesn't bring our Jamie back but it does allow the space in our hearts to focus on her and allow the healing process to begin," Pate said.

'Justice for Jamie finally was served,' attorney general says

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond prays Underwood's execution brought Jamie's family and all those who continue to mourn Jamie a sense of closure.

"Justice for Jamie finally was served this morning with the execution of the depraved murderer who took her away from her family and loved ones,” Drummond said in a statement obtained by Paste BN. “I pray that Jamie's family and all who continue to mourn her loss find a sense of peace after today’s action.”

What were Underwood's last words?

Underwood used his last words to apologize.

"I would like to apologize again for all the terrible things that I did," Underwood said from the execution gurney. "I hate that I did those things, and I wish I could take them back."

He blinked rapidly after finishing his last words, and a tear rolled down his face.

Underwood called the decision to hold the execution on his birthday and six days before Christmas "a needlessly cruel thing to do to my family."

The scheduling of Underwood's execution on his birthday was a coincidence that came about in part because the procedures are only done on Thursdays. Two years ago, death row inmate Richard Fairchild also was executed on his birthday.

While strapped to the gurney, he looked over more than once at his mother, Connie Underwood. He apologized to his family as well as to the victim's family.

What was Underwood's final meal?

He ate his last meal consisting of chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, pinto beans, a hot roll, cheeseburger and fries with ketchup. and a soda at 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday.

Underwood was also given Xanax on Wednesday night and again Thursday morning before he was injected with a three-drug cocktail of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride.

What was Kevin Underwood convicted of?

Underwood was convicted for Jamie's murder in 2008, two years after he acted on a recent desire “to abduct a person, sexually molest them, eat their flesh, and dispose of their remains,” a 26-year-old Underwood told FBI agents in an interview following his arrest. 

Jamie had come over to play with Underwood's white pet named Freyja after school and was viciously attacked while she was watching "SpongeBob SquarePants." He beat Jamie with a wooden cutting board, suffocated her and sexually molested her before he attempted to decapitate her with a decorative dagger.

Local authorities searched far and wide for Jamie after she failed to return home to the apartment shared with dotting father, Curtis Bolin.

The "frantic" search for Jamie ended on April 14, 2006, two days after her father realized she was gone and 24 hours after local authorities issued an Amber Alert for the young girl.

Underwood consented to a search of his apartment, where Jamie's remains were located in a storage container in his bedroom, when he sat down to speak with authorities Jamie's whereabouts. FBI agents also found a disassembled purple bike, meat tenderizer and skewers.

“Go ahead and arrest me … She’s in there. I hit her and chopped her up,” Underwood said. “I’m going to burn in hell."

'Kevin lost his battle with his mental health problems,' lawyer said

Underwood grew up a "social outcast" that was severely bullied and relied on friends and family to rescue him, according to court documents obtained by Paste BN. He had close relationships to immediate family and had a few close friends but mostly kept to himself.

Underwood could be either glued to his computer or at a local grocery store where he worked as a stocker with his father. He was unable to finish college because his panic attacks and debilitating anxiety, court documents show.

As his mental illness "continued to worsen," he turned to the internet for comfort, retreating "further into his virtual world and fantasies," according to court documents. He also kept a blog, where he “complained” about his life, shared dark musings and previously joked about cannibalism, The Oklahoman reported in April 2006. 

Medication, Underwood’s lawyers wrote in 2019, could have reduced the effects of his sexual urges, depression, social anxiety and obsessive thoughts. 

"Pretty much the only time I believe in God is when I want to blame Him for something,” Underwood wrote in a February 2006 blog post obtained by the Oklahoman. “Or, when I'm really depressed, to cry and beg Him to make me better, to make whatever is wrong in my brain go away, so that I can live like a normal person."

Various attorneys have implored the courts and most recently the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to consider his consider mental health, as he suffers from a "major psychiatric illnesses” ranging from depression to schizotypal personality disorder.

"Other experts have simply said that Kevin's struggles go beyond what current psychology can diagnose," Underwood's attorney Brendan Van Winkle at the clemency hearing, as reported by The Oklahoman. "Ultimately, we're here today because Kevin lost his battle with his mental health problems."

The Board unanimously voted 3-0 against a clemency recommendation early Friday morning, allowing state correction officials to move forward with the execution.

Jamie's family receive 'closure they deserve' from execution

In the eyes of Jamie's family, the only just punishment for Underwood is death.

Several family members expressed, in various victim statements ahead of the execution, that they have been waiting for justice for "Coppertop" since she was killed.

"I feel justice would be served by his serving his sentence including execution. He did not consider the impact this has had for all the families involved, the local people, and even his own family," Don Fox, Jamie's grandfather wrote. "Many have been forever changed by this murder and how many are still affected today.

Underwood "took away" Jamie's ability to lead a fulfilling life or make new memories, Jessica Stegner, Jamie's aunt wrote. Instead, she's buried in a cemetery with her mother, her grandmothers, her great grandmothers and so many others who have passed.

"She should have had a place with us here now, but that was taken away from her and her family and her friends," Stegner wrote. "She didn’t get to have those firsts, make those memories, go to those celebrations, try new food, go on vacations, make mistakes and learn lessons, have laughs and tears and all that is in between."

"This family has served enough time and we are due for some mercy," Stegner wrote.