Russell G. Lloyd, Sr.

Who was Russell G. Lloyd, Sr.?

Russell G. Lloyd, Sr. served as the Republican mayor of Evansville, Indiana from 1972 to 1980 and was an alternate delegate from Indiana to the 1972 Republican National Convention. He remains the only Republican to be twice elected mayor of Evansville.

In 1961 Lloyd was appointed attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Vanderburgh County.

Evansville citizen Julia Van Orden had a history as a "constant complainer" according to city police and had claimed harassment from officials inspecting her home. On March 18, 1980, Van Orden had thrown a brick at a city inspector's vehicle windshield when he came to inspect an addition to her house. The following morning, Julia Van Orden, believing Lloyd was still the mayor, arrived at his home. She shot Lloyd four times with a handgun, in the head, neck and shoulders, in a fit of anger after a brief argument. Van Orden fled and Lloyd was taken to the hospital, where a brain scan indicated brain death. Doctors announced "there is no hope" shortly before turning off Lloyd's medical ventilator.