Alton Coleman and Debra Brown were a pair of American serial killers who killed 8 people in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. They attacked or killed men, women, and children.
Victims
Vernita Wheat: On June 19th, 1984, the badly decomposed body of nine year old Vernita Wheat was found in Waukegan, Wisconsin. As it turns out, Coleman had befriended Vernita's mother, Juanita, and had taken Vernita to Waukegan, before raping and strangling her.
Tamika Turks: At some point in June 1984, the couple encountered two young girls in Gary, Indiana. The young girls were nine year old Annie, and her sister, seven year old Tamika. The couple sexually assaulted the girls, and killed Tamika. Tamika's body was found on June 19th.
Donna Williams: the same day as the discovery of Vernita and Tamika's bodies, Donna Williams, a 25 year old woman from Gary, disappeared. Her body was found on July 11th.
Virginia and Rachelle Temple: after arriving in Toledo, Ohio, on July 5th, the couple met Virginia Temple. When her relatives began not hearing from her, they told the police, and they visited her house and found her and her eldest daughter, nine year old Rachelle, strangled to death and left in a crawlspace, while her other children were left alone and afraid.
Tonnie Storey: on July 20th, the body of 15 year old Tonnie Storey was found in Cincinnati, Ohio. She had disappeared eight days earlier.
Marlene Walters: on July 13th, Coleman and Brown beat a couple, Harry and Marlene Walters. Marlene did not survive the attack. Harry later testified that Coleman and Brown had talked to them about purchasing a camper before the attack. The Walters's car was stolen, and so were a couple more items.
Eugene Scott: in Indianapolis, the couple stole a car and murdered its owner, Eugene Scott, by shooting him repeatedly. His body was later found in a ditch.
Capture, trial and sentencing
Coleman and Brown's crime spree finally came to an end in Evanston, Illinois. A motorist who had seen Coleman and Brown walking across an intersection recognized Coleman and notified the police. They were arrested and taken into custody without incident. The death penalty was sought for both of them, but it was only given to Coleman, who was executed on April 26th, 2002. His last meal consisted of a well done filet mignon smothered with mushrooms, fried chicken breast, a salad with French dressing, sweet potato pie topped with whipped cream, French fries, collard greens, onion rings, cornbread, broccoli with melted cheese, biscuits and gravy, and a cherry coke. He was executed via lethal injection. Instead of the death penalty, Brown was given life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, as well as 140 years. She is still alive and serving her time in prison.