Incarcerated at California State Prison Sacramento, Bunyard was serving a sentence for orchestrating the 1981 murder-for-hire killing of his pregnant wife in San Joaquin County, a crime that also resulted in the death of the couple’s full-term unborn daughter
SACRAMENTO – Jerry T. Bunyard, who was serving a condemned sentence, died July 10, 2026, while incarcerated at California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC). He was 76 years old.
At 4:44 p.m., Bunyard was pronounced deceased at an outside medical facility by medical staff. The Sacramento County Coroner will determine his official cause of death.
Bunyard was serving a condemned sentence for orchestrating the 1981 murder-for-hire killing of his pregnant wife in San Joaquin County, a crime that also resulted in the death of the couple’s full-term unborn daughter.
According to court records, Bunyard arranged for another man, Erwin Popham, to kill his wife, Elaine Bunyard, amid marital problems and concerns over the financial consequences of a divorce. Prosecutors said the plan was to make Elaine Bunyard’s death appear to be a suicide.
Instead, Popham attacked Elaine Bunyard with three cast-iron skillets before fatally shooting her. She was nine months pregnant at the time of the attack, and the couple’s unborn daughter also died. Elaine Bunyard’s 7-year-old daughter from a previous marriage discovered her mother’s body in the family’s garage.
Bunyard was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder — one for the killing of his wife and one for the death of their unborn daughter. Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.
The case remained in the California court system for years through the appeals process. In 1988, the California Supreme Court upheld Bunyard’s murder convictions but overturned his original death sentence because of errors during the penalty phase of the trial. Following a new penalty trial, a jury again sentenced him to death.
Bunyard entered the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Feb. 2, 1981, after being convicted in San Joaquin County. He remained on condemned status throughout the remainder of his incarceration.
There are currently 567 condemned people in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). More information about capital punishment can be found on the CDCR website.
SAC opened in 1986 and houses more than 2,200 medium-, maximum- and high-security incarcerated persons. The prison offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,500 people.
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