Last Podcast On The Left

Episode 646: Ronald Gene Simmons Part II - To Kill a Bunch of Mockingbirds

Date: December 12, 2025
Hosts: Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, Ed Larson

Episode Overview

This episode concludes the two-part series examining the life and crimes of Ronald Gene Simmons, the most prolific family annihilator in American history. The hosts detail the harrowing events leading up to, during, and after the Christmas Massacre of 1987, in which Simmons murdered 14 people, primarily his own family, before embarking on a local killing spree. The episode explores Simmons’s psychology, abusive family dynamics, his sense of entitlement and control, and the impact of his crimes, all with the show's signature irreverent dark humor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction and Tone-Setting Banter

• [01:25-05:16] The hosts open with trademark banter, joking about taboo subjects to disarm the audience before diving into grim subject matter.
• There’s playful chatter about crossdressing in the military, family acceptance, and “panty-curious” intros—tying back satirically to themes of repression and secrecy.

2. Recap: Who Was Ronald Gene Simmons?

• [05:35] Henry: “We are concluding our series on Ronald Gene Simmons with the Christmas Massacre.”
• Simmons is described as a controlling, entitled, and profoundly abusive patriarch who attached his manhood and self-worth to the dominance of his large family.
• [05:56] Marcus: Emphasizes that Simmons’s crimes were rooted in entitlement: “Ronnie felt entitled to everything that America had to offer a white man in 1987.”

3. Cycle of Abuse and Control

• [07:49] Simmons’s iron grip began to fracture as his children grew up and his wife, Becky, asserted autonomy—including sterilization after seven children, defying Simmons’s demand for more offspring.
• [09:06-10:24] Hosts discuss the various motivations of family annihilators compared to Simmons, who “planned everything out because of his entitlement and feeling owed a certain life” (Henry, [10:13]).

4. Incest and Escalating Crimes

• [12:39-14:25] Simmons’s incestuous abuse of his daughter Sheila is laid out in upsetting detail.
  • He publicly favored Sheila, took sexually charged Polaroids, and escalated to forced pregnancy.
  • The family’s silence and isolation were enforced through fear and manipulation.
  • [14:25] Marcus (facetiously): “This is my daughter I fuck.” (Exemplifies the hosts’ black humor and disgust at Simmons’s brazenness.)

5. Attempted Intervention and Failed Law Enforcement

• [15:18-18:14] When Sheila becomes pregnant, Becky informs her son, who alerts authorities. CPS intervenes, but Simmons evades repercussions by moving the family to Arkansas just ahead of arrest.
• Loopholes and lack of cross-state databases allowed Simmons to escape justice and restart his abusive cycle.
• [17:40] Henry: “It is surprisingly hard to find incest statistics, though.”

6. Arkansas: Descent Into Paranoia, Isolation, and Obsession

• [24:21-26:33] In Arkansas, Simmons grows increasingly paranoid, restricting his family’s movements, enforcing darkness and silence, and physically preparing for more violence.
• Sheila gains perspective and support by attending business school and confiding in friends, eventually rejecting Simmons.

7. Mockingbird Hill: The Stage for Massacre

• [27:18-28:17] Simmons buys 13 acres and names it Mockingbird Hill, transforming it into an isolated, junk-ridden compound devoid of basic plumbing and privacy—a literal and figurative dump where his family is both physically and emotionally imprisoned.
• [28:24-29:16] The family’s hopes of a fresh start in Arkansas dissolve as descendants leave, Becky seeks help, and Simmons’s rage festers.

8. Trigger Events: Job Loss, Social Rejection, and the 'Masturbation Room'

• [33:22] Simmons retreats into isolation, obsessively masturbating to Polaroids of Sheila and seizing any remaining control and pleasure.
• [35:12-36:00] Simmons is further humiliated by women bosses and colleagues, particularly after being rejected by coworker Kathy Kendrick.

9. Manipulation Fails & The Murder Countdown

• [38:41-40:14] Simmons’s emotional appeals to his remaining family are transparently self-serving. Recognizing growing defiance, he moves toward violence.
• [40:22] His violent urges are foreshadowed by shooting animals and making veiled threats.
• [41:55] Becky refuses to leave out of fear, familiar with the statistics that the most dangerous time is when an abused tries to escape: “That’s usually when all the bad shit happens.”

10. Massacre: The Christmas Killings

• [51:18-56:04] Detailed, graphic step-by-step account of Simmons’s methodical, cold-blooded murder of his wife, children, grandchildren, and more, over three distinct waves Dec 22-26, 1987:
  • Shoots adults, strangles children, disposes of bodies in privy pits, then tries to stage scene as outside maniac’s work.
• [53:50] Henry: “God damn. It’s annihilation.”
• [59:35] Marcus: “He hated the kids. He resented the children most of all because he literally couldn’t control their futures.”
• The psychological horror is underlined: the killing was spread over several days—rare even among family annihilators.

11. Aftermath & Spree Killings in Town

• [62:50-66:37] After murdering his entire family, Simmons embarks on a local shooting spree, targeting those he believes wronged him (former colleagues, supervisors).
• Notably, he targets women at close range, enacting particular violence against them.
• The massacre is only stopped when 71-year-old Tony Carter fights back with cans of soda, driving Simmons off ([71:05]).

12. Arrest, Trial, and Execution

• [73:35-74:09] Simmons is arrested calmly and refuses to cooperate or offer explanations, maintaining control through his silence.
• His only “mitigation neutralizing maneuver” is punching the prosecutor in the jaw ([76:24]) in a final demonstration of narcissistic bravado.
• Simmons demands the death penalty without appeal, committed by lethal injection. Notably, his execution order was signed by then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton ([77:30-78:09]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Marcus [09:57]: “If you find worth in the size of your family, when you actually die, you are worthless.”
• Henry [10:13]: “He planned all of this—not from a momentary breakdown, but entitlement—what he believed he deserved just for being a white man in America."
• Marcus [14:25, mocking Simmons]: “This is my daughter I fuck.”
• Marcus [38:41]: Quoting Simmons’s self-centered apology letter: "You just don't know what it's been like for me."
• Marcus [53:50]: “God damn. It’s annihilation.”
• Henry [77:03]: “The only thing decent that he did—sort of—was die.”
• Marcus [77:56]: “It’s like finding out Thomas himself made the burger at Wendy’s... it’s special when a future president signs the execution order.”

Comic Relief:

• [71:05] Tony Carter, the 71-year-old customer, chasing Simmons out of the Mini Mart with cans of soda stands as a surreal but triumphant pushback against evil:
  • Marcus: “You think you’re the meanest old bastard in this town? Not while Tony Carter’s around!”

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Content/Segment | |----------------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:05-05:16 | Opening banter, setting irreverent tone | | 05:35-07:30 | Series recap & theme: control, entitlement, annihilation | | 12:39-14:25 | Description of Simmons's incestuous abuse | | 15:18-18:14 | CPS intervention and flight to Arkansas | | 24:21-26:33 | Growing isolation, paranoia and control in Arkansas | | 27:18-28:17 | “Mockingbird Hill” setup, hellish compound | | 38:41-40:14 | Failed emotional manipulation and escalation to violence | | 51:18-56:04 | Detailed narration of the Christmas Massacre | | 62:50-66:37 | Simmons’s spree killings in town | | 73:35-74:09 | Simmons’s arrest and silence | | 76:24 | “Mitigation neutralizing maneuver”—punches prosecutor | | 77:30-78:09 | Bill Clinton signs the execution order |

Episode Takeaways

• Ronald Gene Simmons’s actions were premeditated, driven by entitled rage, and distinctly different from other family annihilators who acted from desperation rather than entitlement. His psychological need for dominance and control—paired with sexual violence and narcissism—created the conditions for catastrophic violence.
• The episode is a chilling study in how cycles of abuse, societal failures, and deep narcissism can converge into tragedy.
• The hosts balance harrowing subject matter with gallows humor, skillfully walking the line between informative true crime and comedic commentary—with moments of dark absurdity and human resilience (Tony Carter’s soda-can intervention).

Further Listening

• Previous episode: Ronald Gene Simmons Part I (background, early life)
• References to: Family annihilators (John List, Chris Watts, Andrea Yates, Fritzl), serial offenders, and history of mass violence in America.

For listeners seeking deep insight, morbid history, and cathartic comic relief—a classic, disturbing “Last Podcast on the Left” episode.