Alton Coleman
Alton Coleman | |
---|---|
Child molestation | |
Criminal penalty | Federal 20 years imprisonment Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana Death |
Details | |
Victims | 8 |
Country | United States |
State(s) | Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky |
Date apprehended | July 20, 1984 |
Imprisoned at | Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Lucasville, Ohio |
Alton Coleman (November 6, 1955 – April 26, 2002) was an American serial killer who, along with accomplice Debra Brown (born November 11, 1962), committed a crime spree across six states between May and July 1984 that resulted in the deaths of eight people. Coleman, who received death sentences in three states, was executed by the state of Ohio in 2002. Brown was sentenced to death in Ohio and Indiana, but the sentences were later reduced to life imprisonment without parole and 140 years, respectively.
Criminal background
Alton Coleman
Alton Coleman was born on November 6, 1955, in
Coleman was diagnosed with mixed
Debra Brown
Debra Brown was born on November 11, 1962.
Murders
Wisconsin and Illinois
Coleman and Brown committed their first murder when they killed 9-year-old Vernita Wheat from
On May 31, Coleman befriended Robert Carpenter in Waukegan and spent the night at his home. The next day he “borrowed” Carpenter's car to go to the store and never returned.
Indiana and Michigan
In June 1984, Coleman and Brown encountered two young girls in
On June 28, Coleman and Brown entered the home of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer-Jones of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, whom they beat severely. Coleman ripped the telephone from their wall before stealing money and their car.
Ohio
On July 5, Coleman and Brown arrived in Toledo, Ohio, where Coleman befriended Virginia Temple, the mother of several children. When Temple stopped communicating with her relatives, authorities entered her home and found her young children alone and frightened. Temple and her eldest child, 9-year-old Rachelle, had been strangled to death and left in a crawl space.[8]
On the same morning as the Temple murders, Coleman and Brown entered the home of Frank and Dorothy Duvendack in Toledo, who were bound with electrical cords which had been cut. The couple stole the Duvendacks' money and car,
On July 12, Tonnie Storey, a 15-year-old girl who lived in Cincinnati's
Coleman and Brown bicycled into Norwood on July 13 at about 9:30 a.m. Less than three hours later, they drove away in a car belonging to Harry Walters, whom they left unconscious, and his wife Marlene, who was raped and beaten to death. Walters survived and later testified that they had met the couple to discuss their potential purchase of a camper, but that Coleman attacked him with a wooden candlestick. The coroner indicated Marlene had been bludgeoned approximately 20 to 25 times during her violent assault. Shards of a broken soda bottle which bore Coleman's fingerprints were found in the living room, and bloody footprints made by two different pairs of shoes were found in the basement. The Walters' red Plymouth Reliant, as well as money, jewelry, and shoes, were stolen. Two bicycles, clothes and shoes not belonging to the Walters had been left behind.
Kentucky, return to Ohio, Illinois and Indiana
Two days later, the Plymouth was found abandoned in Kentucky, where Coleman and Brown had kidnapped Oline Carmical Jr., a college professor from Williamsburg, and drove back to Ohio with Carmical locked in the trunk of his car.[5] On July 17, they abandoned this stolen vehicle in Dayton, and Carmical, who was still locked in the trunk, was rescued by authorities. Coleman and Brown returned to the home of the Gays, accosting them with guns. Reverend Gay, who at this time recognized Coleman as a wanted fugitive, asked, "Why you want to do us like that, like this?" Coleman responded: "I'm not going to kill you, but we generally kill them where we go." Coleman and Brown took their car and headed back toward Evanston, Illinois. Along the way, they stole another car in Indianapolis and killed its owner, 75-year-old Eugene Scott.[7]
Arrest and conviction
Three days later, on July 20, Coleman and Brown were arrested in Evanston.[11] As they walked westward across an intersection, they passed immediately in front of a motorist who was from Coleman's neighborhood in Waukegan. The motorist drove north to a gas station and notified the police from a pay phone. The couple were soon spotted sitting on portable bleachers in empty Mason Park. As two police sergeants approached Coleman, Brown was observed walking away toward the rear of the park. Two other officers stopped Brown as she tried to exit the park, searched her, and found a gun in her purse. The pair were taken into custody without incident and transported to the Evanston police station, where both were identified by their fingerprints.
As Coleman was
The state of Ohio convicted Coleman and Brown, finding them guilty of the rape and murder of Tonnie Storey in Cincinnati and Marlene Walters in Norwood, but not for the murders of Virginia and Rachelle Temple in Toledo. Coleman and Brown were both sentenced to death. Coleman's case was sent to the
Execution of Coleman
On April 25, 2002, the
Before his execution, he released a letter apologizing for what he'd done.On April 26, reciting Psalm 23, Alton Coleman was executed by lethal injection in the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. Reginald Wilkinson, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said Coleman had not directly expressed remorse for the killings, but that he had "admitted what he's done in his own convoluted way."[6]
Coleman had received two death sentences from Ohio, and one each from Illinois and Indiana. At the time of his execution, he was the only condemned person in the United States to have death sentences in three states.[5]
Imprisonment of Brown
Brown, who was originally sentenced to be executed in Ohio for her complicity in the crimes, had her death sentence
Despite her non-violent history before the spree, Brown was initially unrepentant for her acts. During the sentencing phase of her first Ohio trial, she sent a note to the judge which read in part: "I killed the bitch and I don't give a damn. I had fun out of it." She was also given a death sentence for the murder of Tamika Turks in Indiana; however that sentence was ultimately commuted to 140 years imprisonment in 2018.[16]
Brown is currently serving her sentence without possibility of parole at the Dayton Correctional Institution in Dayton, Ohio. She finally expressed remorse for her crimes when she apologized to the victims' families in a video in 2005.
Racial motive
Some authorities believe that Coleman and Brown (who are both
See also
- List of people executed in Ohio
- List of people executed in the United States in 2002
- List of serial killers in the United States
References
- ^ "Clemency Report" (PDF).
- ^ Appeal Archived January 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ State of Ohio. "Offender Details". Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
- ^ "BROWN vs. STATE | FindLaw's Supreme Court of Indiana case and opinions". Findlaw. Thomson Reuters. July 17, 1998. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Wilkinson, Howard (April 24, 2002). "Alton Coleman finally faces justice". Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ a b McCain, Marie (April 27, 2002). "Coleman dies for his crimes". Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Gribben, Mark. "Alton Coleman & Debra Brown: Odyssey of Mayhem". Crime Library. truTV-Turner-Time Warner. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ "Panel weighs arguments about killer's fate". Columbus Dispatch. April 17, 2002.
- ^ Enstad, Robert (January 22, 1987). "Coleman's threat told by witness". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ Ludlow, Randy (April 26, 2002). "Clock runs out on Alton Coleman". Cincinnati Post.
- ^ Flanigan, Brian; Joe Swickard (July 21, 1984). "Alton Coleman is Arrested" (PDF). Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ Arresting officers, Scharm, Trigoura, Hynds, Walker, Grinnel
- ^ Mills, Steve (April 25, 2002). "'84 killer on eve of execution". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ Witt, Howard (April 20, 1985). "Coleman Outbursts Delay Jury Seating". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ "Last Meals on Death Row (2002)". Dead Man Eating. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
- ^ "'We have no justice': Serial killer's death sentence canceled, to the shock of local victim's family". December 30, 2018. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018.
- ^ "The Anatomy of Motive". Archived from the original on December 8, 2010.
- ^ Ludlow, Randy (April 23, 2002). "Alton Coleman: His time to die". Cincinnati Post.
Court decisions
- Coleman v. Mitchell, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 268 F.3d 417; 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 21639; 2001 FED App. 0367P (6th Cir.), October 10, 2001
- In re Coleman, Supreme Court of Ohio, 95 Ohio St. 3d 284; 2002 Ohio 1804; 767 N.E.2d 677; 2002 Ohio LEXIS 916, April 19, 2002
- State v. Brown, Supreme Court of Ohio, 38 Ohio St. 3d 305; 528 N.E.2d 523; 1988 Ohio LEXIS 289, August 31, 1988
- State v. Coleman, Supreme Court of Ohio, 37 Ohio St. 3d 286; 525 N.E.2d 792; 1988 Ohio LEXIS 212, July 6, 1988
- State v. Coleman, Court of Appeals of Ohio, First Appellate District, Hamilton County, 1987 Ohio App. LEXIS 9048, October 7, 1987
Media articles
- "Midwest Fugitive Caught in Illinois", The New York Times, July 21, 1984
- "FBI Adds to '10 Most Wanted' List", The Washington Post, July 12, 1984
- "Coleman's Execution Dulls Pain Only A Little", Columbus Dispatch(Ohio), April 27, 2002
External links
- Clark Prosecutor
- Debra Brown, Indiana Death Row
- Picture of Alton Coleman from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
- Oppose the Execution of Alton Coleman! (archived) American Civil Liberties Union - Action Alert