Susan Grund, Oversexed Murderess

Susan was a hometown Peru girl, although she had been around the block a few times. Her early life had little in common with the lifestyle she enjoyed as wife of a prominent attorney.

She was born Sue Ann Sanders in 1958, one of seven children raised on the poor side of town by an alcoholic father and a farm-raised mother, Nellie.

The family's problems included any number of pathologies. Her father William, a steelworker, was physically abusive, especially when he was drinking. Sue Ann later said he had sexually assaulted her.

Even before she reached her teen years, Sue Ann was plotting to escape her background. She changed her name to Susan, which she reckoned sounded less trailer-trashy than Sue Ann.

Susan Grund

Susan was an attractive girlslim, with a bright smile. Good looks gave her self-confidence, and she was never shy about expressing her opinion.

She grew up fast and was sexually precocious, according to true crime author Wensley Clarkson. To more than a few boys, she became One-Night Stand Sue Ann.

Susan left high school at age 17 and moved 20 miles to the regional hub city of Kokomo, Ind., a car industry town of 45,000. There, she took up with a local rock and roll musician named Ronnie Lovell.

Ronnie Lovell

On a lark, they got married just weeks after meeting, in 1975. Susan followed Lovell to gigs, helping to haul gear and hanging out as a band chick.

But rock and roll wasn't paying the bills in Kokomo, and Lovell decided to take his new bride back to his hometown, Oklahoma City.