Derrick Todd Lee was a notorious serial killer who terrorized the Baton Rouge area of Louisiana for over a decade. He was convicted of murdering two women and linked by DNA to five more. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection, but he never faced his execution. Instead, he died of natural causes in a hospital in 2016. What was the cause of death for Derrick Todd Lee, and how did it affect his victims’ families and the public?
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Derrick Todd Lee’s Early Life and Criminal History
Derrick Todd Lee was born on November 5, 1968, in St. Francisville, Louisiana, to Samuel Ruth and Florence Lee. His father, who suffered from mental illness, left the family soon after Derrick was born and ended up in a mental institution after being charged with the attempted murder of his ex-wife. Florence later married Coleman Barrow, who raised Derrick and his three sisters.
Lee had a low IQ and was placed in special education classes. He also showed signs of antisocial behavior, such as peeping into windows, torturing animals, and burglarizing homes. He dropped out of high school and had several run-ins with the law for stalking, trespassing, voyeurism, and assault.
In 1988, Lee married Jacqueline Denise Sims, with whom he had three children. He worked as a construction worker and occasionally as a truck driver. He also had a history of domestic violence, infidelity, and alcohol abuse. He was arrested several times for attacking his wife and other women.
Derrick Todd Lee’s Serial Killings and Capture
Lee’s first known murder victim was Connie Warner, who was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in her home in Zachary, Louisiana, in August 1992. Lee’s killing spree lasted until March 2003, during which he raped and murdered at least six more women in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas. His victims ranged in age from 21 to 52 and came from different backgrounds. He used various methods to kill them, such as stabbing, strangling, beating, and slashing.
Lee’s crimes were initially attributed to a white man, based on an inaccurate FBI profile and erroneous eyewitness accounts. Police conducted thousands of DNA tests on Caucasian men in the area but failed to find a match. It was only after a private company analyzed the DNA samples from the crime scenes that police realized they were looking for a black man.
In May 2003, Lee was identified as the prime suspect after his DNA matched the samples from five victims. He had voluntarily given his DNA to the police when they visited his home in West Feliciana Parish as part of their investigation. However, he fled the state with his family on the same day he provided his DNA. He was arrested a week later in Atlanta, Georgia, after a nationwide manhunt.
Derrick Todd Lee’s Trial and Death Sentence
Lee was extradited to Louisiana and charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Geralyn DeSoto and Charlotte Murray Pace. DeSoto was a 21-year-old college student who was stabbed to death in her home in Addis, Louisiana, in January 2002. Pace was a 22-year-old LSU graduate who was stabbed over 80 times in her home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in May 2002.
Lee pleaded not guilty to both charges and claimed he had an alibi for each murder. His defense team argued that he had a mental disability that impaired his judgment and that he was coerced into giving his DNA sample. They also challenged the reliability of the DNA evidence and suggested that another serial killer, Sean Vincent Gillis, who operated in the same area at the same time as Lee, could have been responsible for some of the murders.
However, the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence against Lee, including DNA matches from five other victims: Randi Mebruer, Gina Wilson Green, Carrie Lynn Yoder, Trineisha Dene Colomb, and Pam Kinamore1. They also brought forward Dianne Alexander, the only known survivor of Lee’s attacks. She testified that Lee broke into her home in St. Martin Parish in July 2002 and tried to rape her before she fought him off.
In August 2004, Lee was found guilty of murdering DeSoto and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. In October 2004, he was found guilty of murdering Pace and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He appealed his convictions and sentences but was denied by both state and federal courts.
Derrick Todd Lee’s Cause of Death
Lee spent more than a decade on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. He was never executed, as Louisiana had a moratorium on executions since 2010 due to legal challenges and shortages of lethal injection drugs.
On January 21, 2016, Lee died of natural causes at the age of 47. He was taken to a hospital outside the prison after suffering from heart problems. His cause of death was determined to be heart disease, which is a common condition among inmates.
Lee’s death sparked mixed reactions from his victims’ families and the public. Some expressed relief that he was gone, while others felt cheated that he did not face justice. Some also questioned whether he had more victims that were never identified or linked to him.
Lee’s death also raised questions about the effectiveness and morality of the death penalty in Louisiana and the United States. Some argued that the death penalty was a waste of time and money, as it did not deter crime or provide closure for the victims’ families. Others argued that the death penalty was a necessary and just punishment for the worst of the worst criminals.
Conclusion
Derrick Todd Lee was a serial killer who killed at least seven women in Louisiana between 1992 and 2003. He was caught in 2003 after his DNA matched the samples from the crime scenes. He was convicted of two murders and sentenced to death, but he died of heart disease in 2016 before he could be executed. His death sparked debate about the death penalty and its role in the criminal justice system.
