He walked around to an open window on the front of the house. He tipped over a metal tub to use as a step, removed a screen and hoisted himself up and in.
The man found himself in the bedroom of Justin Harris, 14, who was blind. The boy was roused awake, but he thought the noise was his siblings horsing around.
Justin called out, Will yall stop coming into my room!
The man moved out of Justins room to the next bedroom. He opened the door and flicked a flame to his cigarette lighter. There slept a Harris family friend, Marque Surles, 7. In the master bedroom, he flicked his lighter again and found Crystal Harris asleep with her daughter Lori, 12.
Finally, in the fourth bedroom he found what he was looking for.��
In the bottom rack of a bunk bed lay Kaylene Katy Harris, 13.
The man lay down beside the girl and nudged her awake.
She looked at him sleepily and said, What are you doing here?
The man held a hand over her mouth and menaced Katy with the knife.
He drew the blade down her body and deftly sliced off her shorts, panties and bra, as if hed done that sort of thing before.
When the man began fondling her, Katy wiggled free, stood up and screamed, Go get mama!
Only then did the intruder realize that a second girl, Krystal Surles, 10 years old and 80 pounds, was asleep on the top bunk.
The man poked his knife at Katy and turned on the bedroom light. Seeing blood, the girl said, You cut me!
The intruder moved in behind Katy.
Krystal Surles, survivor
"He had his hand over her mouth, Krystal Surles would later say. She was struggling. She told me with her eyes to stay there and not move, and so I didn't.As Krystal watched, the man dragged the blade of his knife across Katys throat once, and then repeated the motion a second time.
"She just fell, said Krystal. And then she started making really bad noises, like she was gagging for air but couldn't get any because of the blood."
The man continued his knife work after Katy collapsed. A coroner would catalogue 16 stab wounds, three of which went all the way through her body, in addition to the two gashes to the throat.
The intruder moved toward Krystal Surles.
"I told him, 'I'll be quiet. I promise. I won't say anything. It's Katy making the noise,'" she would later say.
But the intruder showed no mercy.
"He reached over and cut my throat, she said. I just lay there and pretended I was dead. If he knew I was alive, he would come back and kill me for sure.
The assailant switched off the light and walked out, leaving through the front door. After a minute, Krystal heard a car start and drive off. She put a hand to her throat and ran outdoors. Assuming that everyone in the house had been killed, she made her way to a neighbors house a quarter-mile away.