Longtime Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Larson, known for prosecuting some of Kentucky’s most notorious cases and being outspoken on cases after leaving office, died Sunday, his former office said in a Facebook post.

The post, signed by Larson’s successor, Lou Anna Red Corn, did not give a cause of death but said Larson’s passing was “sudden.”

“Ray believed in the mission of a Commonwealth’s Attorney — to seek justice for victims, hold offenders accountable, and to make our community a safe place to live and raise our families,” the post read. “In many ways he helped develop this mission during the almost 40 years he served a prosecutor.”

Larson was Lexington’s top prosecutor for almost 32 years. 

He tried, among others, the case of Lafonda Fay Foster and Tina Hickey Powell, who were convicted of killing five people in one night in 1987, and Elizabeth Zehnder Turpin, who was convicted of master-minding the killing of her husband in 1986.

Larson cultivated a pro-death penalty reputation and “sent six or seven people to Kentucky’s death row, by his own estimation,” The Courier Journal reported at the time of his retirement. 

More local headlines:Here are the Kentucky counties where the CDC says everyone needs a mask indoors

Since retiring in 2016 at 73 years old, he had spoken out about high-profile cases on his social media profiles and was quoted in Courier Journal stories on former Gov. Matt Bevin’s pardon scandal, the Breonna Taylor case and more.

In addition to his professional career, Larson also co-founded the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass and taught Sunday school for decades, according to Red Corn’s Facebook post.

The Courier Journal’s Joe Gerth contributed archival reporting to this story.

Reach reporter Mary Ramsey at [email protected], and follow her on Twitter @mcolleen1996. Support strong local journalism in our community by subscribing to The Courier Journal today.