Alton Coleman was one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. Along with his girlfriend Debra Brown, he went on a murderous rampage across six states in 1984, killing eight people and raping seven others. He was finally captured and sentenced to death in three states. But how did he die? And what motivated him to commit such heinous crimes? This article will explore the alton coleman cause of death and the background of his killing spree.
A Life of Crime
Alton Coleman was born on November 6, 1955, in Waukegan, Illinois. He dropped out of middle school and started his criminal career with petty offenses like property damage. He soon escalated to more serious crimes, such as rape and robbery. He was charged with sex crimes six times between 1973 and 1983, but he managed to avoid conviction in most cases. He was diagnosed with mixed personality disorder, epilepsy, psychosis, and borderline personality disorder by various psychiatrists.
He met Debra Brown in 1983, who became his accomplice and lover. Brown was one of eleven children and had a low IQ. She suffered head trauma as a child and was diagnosed with dependent personality disorder. She was engaged to another man when she met Coleman, but she left her family and moved in with him shortly afterwards. She had no criminal history before meeting Coleman, but she became a willing participant in his violent acts.
A Trail of Blood
Coleman and Brown committed their first murder on May 29, 1984, when they abducted and killed 9-year-old Vernita Wheat from Kenosha, Wisconsin. They took her to Waukegan, where they raped and strangled her. Her body was found three weeks later in an abandoned building near Coleman’s grandmother’s apartment.
They then moved to Gary, Indiana, where they kidnapped two young girls, aged seven and nine, on June 18. They raped and beat both of them, but one of them managed to escape. The other one, Tamika Turks, was choked to death. Her body was found the same day.
Around the same time, they also killed 25-year-old Donna Williams from Gary. They stole her car and drove to Detroit, Michigan, where they dumped her body in another abandoned building. She had been raped and strangled as well.
They continued their spree in Ohio, where they murdered four more people between July 5 and July 13. They killed Virginia Temple and her 10-year-old daughter Rachelle in their home in Toledo. They also killed Tonnie Storey, a 15-year-old girl from Cincinnati, who disappeared while walking to school. They also killed Marlene Walters, a 44-year-old woman from Norwood, who they attacked with a hammer in her home. They stole her car and fled to Kentucky.
In Kentucky, they kidnapped two men but did not kill them. They then crossed the border to Evanston, Illinois, where they were finally arrested on July 20 after a massive manhunt involving the FBI and local police.
A Date with Death
Coleman and Brown were tried separately in different states for their crimes. Coleman received death sentences in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois for six of his murders. Brown received death sentences in Ohio and Indiana for two of her murders, but her sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment without parole and 140 years respectively.
Coleman spent 17 years on death row before he was executed by lethal injection on April 26, 2002 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. He was the first person executed in Ohio since 1963. He did not make any final statement or express any remorse for his crimes.
Brown remains incarcerated at the Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis. She has maintained her love for Coleman and has refused to cooperate with authorities or appeal her sentences.
A Legacy of Horror
Alton Coleman and Debra Brown are considered among the worst serial killers in American history. They terrorized the Midwest for two months in 1984, leaving behind a trail of blood and pain. Their motives remain unclear, but some experts have suggested that they were driven by a twisted sense of love, power, and thrill.
Their crimes have inspired several books, documentaries, and movies over the years. They have also sparked debates about the death penalty, racial profiling, mental health, and criminal justice.
