Wicked Attraction (2008–…): Season 1, Episode 13 - Death on the Sunset Strip - full transcript

ON THE NIGHT OF MAY 29, 1984,

AFTER SEARCHING THE STREETS

OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN,
FOR OVER AN HOUR,

THE MOTHER
OF 9-YEAR-OLD VERNITA WHEAT

CONTACTS THE POLICE.

WELL, THE MOTHER TOLD US
THAT SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND

AND THAT HE HAD ASKED
IF HE COULD TAKE VERNITA

TO A CARNIVAL.

AND IT WAS AROUND 11:00 THAT
THEY HADN'T RETURNED HOME YET.

VERNITA'S MOTHER
DESCRIBES HER BOYFRIEND.

HE MET HER ABOUT A MONTH
AND A HALF BEFORE MAY 29th...



...AND SAID
THAT HE WAS ROBERT KNIGHT,

THAT HE LIVED ON 20th STREET
IN KENOSHA,

AND ACTUALLY SHOWED
MRS. WHEAT SOME IDENTIFICATION.

HE WENT TO HER HOUSE MAYBE
TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK.

THEY WOULD MAKE DINNER.

HE WAS VERY ENGAGING,
CHARISMATIC.

AND THROUGH A PROCESS
OF STOPPING BY,

HE GAINED HER CONFIDENCE.

TO THE POINT WHERE SHE
TRUSTED HIM WITH HER ONLY DAUGHTER.

POLICE GET A PHOTO OF VERNITA
AND PROMISE HER MOTHER

THEY WILL DO EVERYTHING
IN THEIR POWER TO FIND HER.

THEY WENT TO THE ADDRESS

THAT ROBERT KNIGHT
SAID HE LIVED IN KENOSHA...

...AND DISCOVERED THAT
THAT ADDRESS DOESN'T EXIST.



THE KENOSHA POLICE HAVE JUANITA
COME INTO THEIR STATION.

THEY DON'T HAVE A ROBERT KNIGHT
IN ANY RECORDS.

SO THEY HAVE HER GO THROUGH
THEIR MUG-SHOT BOOKS,

AND SHE PICKS OUT THE PICTURE

THAT SHE THOUGHT
WAS ROBERT KNIGHT,

BUT IN ACTUALITY
IS ALTON COLEMAN.

AND 28-YEAR-OLD ALTON COLEMAN

IS NO STRANGER
TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.

THE KENOSHA POLICE REALIZES

THEY HAVE A SUBJECT
WITH A HISTORY OF RAPES,

AND THEY IMMEDIATELY
START LOOKING FOR HIM.

ALTON COLEMAN
WAS A RESIDENT OF WAUKEGAN.

OBVIOUSLY, THE FIRST LOGICAL
PLACE TO START LOOKING FOR HIM

WOULD HAVE BEEN WHERE HE LIVED.

WAUKEGAN POLICE OFFICIALLY
JOIN KENOSHA POLICE IN THE SEARCH.

WE EXECUTED A SEARCH WARRANT

AT WHAT
IS HIS GRANDMOTHER'S APARTMENT.

UM, WE MEET
WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER.

SHE'S ELDERLY. SHE'S BLIND.

WE MEET A PERSON
BY THE NAME OF DEBRA BROWN,

WHO SAYS THAT SHE IS
HIS GIRLFRIEND.

SHE HAS VERY LITTLE INFORMATION,
OTHER THAN COLEMAN LIVED THERE.

UNABLE TO FIND COLEMAN,

POLICE BRING HIS GIRLFRIEND,
21-YEAR-OLD DEBRA BROWN,

IN FOR QUESTIONING.

BROWN ADMITS THAT COLEMAN
HAD BEEN GONE OVERNIGHT

AND WAS ACTING STRANGE

WHEN HE FINALLY RETURNED HOME
THE NEXT MORNING.

BUT SHE CLAIMS TO NOT KNOW WHY.

DEBRA BROWN SEEMED TO BE
COOPERATIVE WITH US.

SHE SEEMED TO GIVE US
THE INFORMATION FREELY.

BUT WHEN ASKED WHERE COLEMAN IS,
BROWN CLAIMS TO HAVE NO IDEA.

BELIEVING SHE IS TELLING
THE TRUTH, POLICE LET HER GO.

WHEN WE FINISH
QUESTIONING DEBRA,

WE FEEL THAT WE NEED TO DO
EVERYTHING

TO FIND THIS LITTLE GIRL

'CAUSE SHE HAD NOT BEEN SEEN
FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS.

UM,
WAS SHE BEING HELD SOMEWHERE?

LAW-ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS IN TWO STATES

URGENTLY SEARCH
FOR ALTON COLEMAN

AND THE MISSING 9-YEAR-OLD

IN HOPES OF FINDING HER
BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

WELL, IT WAS OUT THERE
AS AN A.P.B.,

AND WE CERTAINLY WERE
LOOKING AROUND.

BUT KENOSHA'S A LARGE CITY.

ALTON HAD NO CONTACTS
WITHIN THE CITY OF KENOSHA.

SO WE HAD NO ADDRESSES
WHATSOEVER.

AS DAYS PASS

WITH NO TRACE OF ALTON COLEMAN
OF VERNITA WHEAT,

AUTHORITIES RETRACE THEIR STEPS.

WE GO BACK TO TALK
TO DEBRA BROWN AGAIN.

WE DISCOVER SHE'S MISSING.

WE LATER GET INFORMATION
THAT SHE'S LAST SEEN

WITH SOMEBODY WHO LOOKED LIKE
ALTON COLEMAN.

BASED ON COLEMAN'S
PAST CRIMINAL RECORD

AND THE FACT THAT BROWN
HAS DISAPPEARED,

A FEDERAL JURY INDICTS
BOTH OF THEM

FOR THE KIDNAPPING
OF VERNITA WHEAT,

BUT COLEMAN AND BROWN
ARE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

THEN, ON JUNE 18th...

ABOUT 2 1/2 WEEKS AFTER
THE INITIAL KIDNAPPING OCCURRED,

THE WAUKEGAN POLICE RECEIVED
A PHONE CALL FROM TWO MEN

THAT HAD ENTERED
AN ABANDONED BUILDING.

THEY WALKED INTO ONE OF
THE ABANDONED APARTMENTS...

...AND WEDGED IN THE DOOR
OF A BATHROOM THEY FOUND A BODY.

INVESTIGATORS
WORST FEARS COME TRUE

WHEN THE BODY IS IDENTIFIED
AS VERNITA WHEAT.

THE BODY WAS BADLY DECOMPOSED.

HER HANDS AND LEGS
HAD BEEN BOUND WITH CABLE.

THE CAUSE OF DEATH
TURNED OUT TO BE STRANGULATION.

WE COULD NOT DETERMINE THAT
THERE WAS ANY SEXUAL ASSAULT.

UM, WE COULD ONLY ASSUME
THAT THERE WAS.

I'VE BEEN
TO SEVERAL MURDER SCENES,

I'VE PROSECUTED
SEVERAL HOMICIDES,

AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ONE
THAT I'VE EVER FORGOTTEN.

ANYTIME A CHILD IS INVOLVED
IN SUCH A TRAUMATIC EVENT

THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT
SO MANY PEOPLE,

YOU JUST DON'T FORGET THEM.

WHAT WOULD HAVE
POSSESSED SOMEONE

TO COMMIT SUCH AN OFFENSE
AGAINST SUCH A YOUNG CHILD?

WAUKEGAN POLICE
DUSTED FOR FINGERPRINTS,

AND ON THE BOTTOM THIRD
OF THE BATHROOM DOOR

WERE TWO FINGERPRINTS.

AND ONE WAS THE THUMBPRINT
OF ALTON COLEMAN.

IT CONFIRMED
WHAT WE THOUGHT ALL ALONG...

THAT COLEMAN HAD KILLED
THIS LITTLE GIRL

AND THAT WE NEED TO DO
EVERYTHING WE CAN TO CATCH HIM.

THERE WAS A LOT OF FEAR
'CAUSE WE HAD NOT CAUGHT HIM.

WE DID NOT KNOW WHERE HE WAS.

WAS HE STILL ON THE STREETS
OF WAUKEGAN?

WAS HE IN KENOSHA?

NO ONE KNEW.
WE DIDN'T KNOW.

ON JUNE 18th, AFTER BEING
FOUND WANDERING IN A WOODED AREA,

A 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL IS BROUGHT
TO A HOSPITAL IN GARY, INDIANA.

AN EXAMINATION REVEALS
SHE HAS BEEN BEATEN,

CHOKED, AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTED.

WHEN POLICE ARRIVE,
THE GIRL TELLS THEM

THAT SHE AND A 7-YEAR-OLD
RELATIVE, TAMIKA TURKS,

WERE TAKEN TO THE WOODS AND
ATTACKED BY A MAN AND A WOMAN.

THE NEXT DAY, SEARCHERS
FIND TAMIKA'S LIFELESS BODY.

SHE HAD ALSO BEEN BEATEN
AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTED

BEFORE BEING KILLED.

TAMIKA WAS STRANGLED
WITH A BEDSHEET,

AND THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL
WHO LAY IN THE FIELD

WATCHED THIS OCCUR.

SHE WAS THEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED,

AND A BELT WAS PUT AROUND
HER NECK AND TIGHTENED

UNTIL SHE PASSED OUT,
AND THEY LEFT HER FOR DEAD.

THE SURVIVING VICTIM
IS ABLE TO PROVIDE POLICE

A DESCRIPTION OF HER ATTACKERS.

WE'RE WATCHING
THE LOCAL CHICAGO NEWS,

AND THEY'RE OF COURSE REPORTING
OUR DISCOVERY

OF VERNITA WHEAT'S BODY.

AND THEY TELL ANOTHER STORY
ABOUT HOW TWO GIRLS

WERE ASSAULTED AND ONE
WAS KILLED IN GARY, INDIANA.

MY FIRST INCLINATION WAS,

"LET'S NOT BLAME COLEMAN
ON EVERY MURDER."

AND THEN
IN A SHORT FEW MINUTES

AFTER YOU HEARD MORE
OF THAT REPORT,

I THINK
THAT THIS HAD TURNED INTO

A MULTIPLE-HOMICIDE SPREE
AT THIS TIME.

AND FOR ALTON COLEMAN
AND DEBRA BROWN,

IT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1984,

FEDERAL
AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

ARE ON THE HUNT
FOR 28-YEAR-OLD ALTON COLEMAN

AND HIS GIRLFRIEND,
21-YEAR-OLD DEBRA BROWN.

BOTH ARE WANTED FOR KIDNAPPINGS
IN WISCONSIN AND INDIANA

THAT LEFT TWO LITTLE GIRLS DEAD
AND ANOTHER SERIOUSLY INJURED.

WE HAD AT LEAST 100 LOCAL POLICE
AND FBI AGENTS SEARCHING AREAS.

THE SEARCH IS MADE
ALL THE MORE DIFFICULT

BY A PARANOID PUBLIC.

WE HAD ALMOST 200 SIGHTINGS
OF COLEMAN,

AND NONE OF THEM
WERE EVER CONFIRMED AS HIM.

FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT,

THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THEY
HAVE SEARCHED FOR ALTON COLEMAN.

THE FIRST TIME THAT I WAS
AWARE THAT MR. COLEMAN EXISTED

WAS HE HAD BEEN PART
OF A ROBBERY, KIDNAPPING,

AND RAPE OF
A WAUKEGAN RESTAURANT OWNER.

HE GOT CONVICTED OF ROBBERY
IN THAT CASE.

BACK IN 1979,

I WAS ASSIGNED TO PROSECUTE
A SEXUAL-ASSAULT CASE

WHERE MR. COLEMAN
WAS THE DEFENDANT.

MR. COLEMAN
TESTIFIED IN THAT CASE,

AND I BELIEVE THAT THE JURY
BELIEVED HIS STORY,

AND HE MANAGED TO CONVINCE THEM
THAT HE WAS NOT GUILTY,

AND THAT WAS PROBABLY
MY FIRST-HAND VIEW

OF ALTON COLEMAN'S ABILITY
TO CHARM PEOPLE.

ALTON COLEMAN
WAS A PURE CON MAN.

HE HAS THE ABILITY TO TALK HIS
WAY IN AND OUT OF SITUATIONS.

ALTON COLEMAN WAS BORN
IN 1955 IN WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS.

ALTON GREW UP
WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER.

HIS MOTHER HAD ABANDONED HIM
AS A YOUNG CHILD.

TO MAKE ENDS MEET,

ALTON'S GRANDMOTHER RAN
A BROTHEL AND GAMBLING PARLOR

OUT OF HER HOME.

FROM A YOUNG AGE, ALTON ACTS OUT
ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIORS,

INCLUDING BREAKING WINDOWS
IN THE HOUSING PROJECTS

WHERE HE LIVES.

ALTON COLEMAN
WAS A CONDUCT-DISORDER CHILD,

SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE
FOLLOWING THE RULES,

SOMEONE WHO MAY BE
SETTING FIRES,

SOMEONE WHO MAY BE BED-WETTING.

HE HAD A DIFFICULT
AND CHALLENGING YOUTH

BECAUSE HE WOULD, UNDER CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES, SOIL HIMSELF.

SOME NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS
PICKED UP ON THAT,

AND HE OBTAINED THE NICKNAME OF
"PISSY," AND IT NEVER LEFT HIM.

THE FACT THAT HE WAS TEASED
FOR WETTING HIS PANTS

AND CALLED "PISSY"

DID NOTHING MORE THAN ADD TO THE
BASIC PERSONALTY HE ALREADY HAD.

AND HE BEGAN, IN CERTAIN WAYS,

TO SHOW ABSOLUTELY DISRESPECT
FOR AUTHORITY

AND DID WHAT HE WANTED TO DO.

ALTON COLEMAN STARTED OUT
WITH PETTY CRIME.

HE DID NOT SEE ANY TYPE
OF PUNISHMENT.

ALTON TELLS OTHERS
IT IS HIS DEVOTION TO VOODOO

THAT PROTECTS HIM FROM
PROSECUTION AND INCARCERATION.

HE HAS NO RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY

BECAUSE THERE WAS NEVER
ANY AUTHORITY GIVEN.

EMBOLDENED
BY THE ABSENCE OF CONSEQUENCE,

ALTON GRADUATES
TO MORE SERIOUS OFFENSES.

AND IN 1973, AT THE AGE OF 18,

HE IS ARRESTED
FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT,

A CRIME HE WILL BE ARRESTED
FOR FIVE MORE TIMES

OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.

HE IS ACQUITTED ON ALL BUT ONE.

WHILE SERVING A PRISON SENTENCE,

ALTON GAINS A REPUTATION
FOR MOLESTING

AND FORCIBLY HAVING SEX
WITH OTHER MALE INMATES.

PRISON PSYCHIATRISTS' PROFILE
LABELS COLEMAN A PANSEXUAL,

WILLING TO HAVE INTERCOURSE
WITH ANY OBJECT,

MAN, WOMAN, OR CHILD.

HE WAS A SEXUAL PREDATOR.

HE HAD NO CONSCIENCE.

IN LATE 1983, COLEMAN
MEETS 21-YEAR-OLD DEBRA BROWN.

DEBRA BROWN WAS A
MEMBER OF A FAMILY OF 11 CHILDREN.

EVERYONE TOOK CARE
OF ONE ANOTHER.

HER INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT RANGED
FROM 59 TO SOMETHING LIKE 75.

AND IF YOU LOOKED
ONLY AT THE NUMBERS,

SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED
MILDLY MENTALLY RETARDED.

SHE DID HAVE SOMETHING

THAT WAS CALLED PASSIVE
DEPENDENT PERSONALITY DISORDER,

AND SHE NEEDED TO BE ABLE
TO DEPEND ON SOMEONE.

COLEMAN DELIBERATELY
HAD THE MIND-SET

OF CHOOSING DEBRA BROWN.

HE SOMEONE KNEW THAT SHE WAS
THE PERFECT PARTNER.

SHE SEES HIM AS KIND AND CARING.

SHE SEES HIM AS WANTING
TO MAKE HER LIFE WONDERFUL,

AND SHE FALLS UNDER THE SPELL

BECAUSE SHE WILL DO ANYTHING
TO HAVE THIS MAN IN HER LIFE.

HE WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY

VULNERABLE PEOPLE
HE COULD PREY ON.

AUTHORITIES
KNOW THEY HAVE NOT ONE,

BUT TWO DANGEROUS CRIMINALS
ON THE LOOSE,

AND THAT MAKES THEM
TWICE AS DEADLY.

ON JUNE 19, 1984,
IN GARY, INDIANA,

25-YEAR-OLD DONNA WILLIAMS IS
REPORTED MISSING BY HER PARENTS,

WHO TELL POLICE SHE WAS ON HER
WAY TO PICK UP SOME NEW FRIENDS.

ALTON COLEMAN
MET DONNA WILLIAMS,

AND THEY TALKED ABOUT
GOING TO CHURCH.

AND HE WANTED TO CONFESS
AND BE A PART OF THE CHURCH

THAT DONNA WILLIAMS
WAS INVOLVED IN.

ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT ALTON COLEMAN

WAS ABLE TO DEVELOP,
LIKE ALL PSYCHOPATHS,

IS THE CAPACITY TO BE,
IN APPEARANCE, NOT DANGEROUS.

I MEAN, HE DOESN'T
COME UP TO SOMEBODY

AND PULL A KNIFE AND SAY,
"COME WITH ME."

HE DEVELOPS THE RELATIONSHIP.

ONE WEEK LATER,
DONNA WILLIAMS' CAR

IS FOUND ABANDONED
IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

THERE IS NO SIGN OF DONNA,

BUT POLICE FIND
A FORGED IDENTIFICATION CARD

WITH BROWN'S PICTURE.

ON JUNE 28th,
A DEARBORN HEIGHTS COUPLE

IS BRUTALLY ATTACKED
IN THEIR HOME

BY ALTON COLEMAN
AND DEBRA BROWN,

WHO ROB THEM
AND STEAL THEIR CAR.

THEY ACTED LIKE ANIMALS.

THEY DIDN'T CARE WHO.

THEY DIDN'T CARE HOW.

THEY DIDN'T CARE WHERE.

THEY DIDN'T CARE ANYTHING
ABOUT THE VICTIMS.

DEBRA BROWN JUST SAID,
"OKAY, LET'S GO."

NO MATTER WHAT SHE HAD TO DO,

HER PLEASURE IN THESE CRIMES
WAS SEEING ALTON HAPPY.

I BELIEVE THESE WERE ALL VICTIMS
OF OPPORTUNITY.

WHETHER IT WAS TO GET MONEY...

...WHETHER IT WAS TO GET
TO A CAR...

...WHETHER IT WAS TO GET FOOD...

...THEY JUST MOVED ON
TO THE NEXT VICTIM.

IN JULY OF 1984,
ALTON COLEMAN AND DEBRA BROWN

ARE ON A RAMPAGE
ACROSS THE MIDWEST

THAT HAS LED TO THE DEATHS
OF TWO CHILDREN...

...AND THE SAVAGE ASSAULT
OF OTHERS.

FOR ALTON COLEMAN,

THE MOTIVATION
WAS SEXUAL PLEASURE...

...AND SADISTIC PLEASURE
IN HURTING SOMEONE.

THAT WAS HIS MOTIVE.

DEBRA'S MOTIVE WAS TO DO
WHATEVER ALTON WANTED HER TO DO.

AND HER PLEASURE
WAS MAKING HIM FEEL GOOD.

AUTHORITIES ACROSS FOUR STATES

RELENTLESSLY HUNT
THE COUPLE DOWN,

DETERMINED TO STOP THEM
BEFORE THEY STRIKE AGAIN.

IT WAS THE MOST INTENSIFIED,

DETAILED INVESTIGATION
THAT I HAD EVER BEEN A PART OF.

HERE WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE
PICKING PEOPLE OUT OF NOWHERE,

OTHER THAN THEIR VULNERABILITY,
AND IT'S KIND OF FEARFUL.

I MEAN, THIS WASN'T
TWO HARDENED GANG PEOPLE

WALKING DOWN THE STREET
THAT EVERYBODY WOULD FEAR.

THEY LOOKED LIKE A COUPLE... AND
WERE ABLE TO PREY ON ANYBODY.

HOW YOU DOING, SIR?

ON JULY 7th,
WE KNOW THAT ALTON COLEMAN

WENT TO A HOME IN TOLEDO, OHIO,
OF MR. AND MRS. DUVENDACK,

AND IN THE RUSE OF WANTING
TO A BUY A USED CAR

THAT WAS FOR SALE
ON THEIR STREET.

HE PUT A GUN TO THEIR HEAD

AND STOLE THEIR CAR
AND ALSO TOOK MONEY.

HE ONLY PREYED ON THOSE
THAT WERE WEAKER THAN HIM

OR SMALLER THAN HIM
OR OLDER THAN HIM.

HE DID THIS ON PURPOSE.

HE PICKED THEM OUT SO
THEY COULDN'T DEFEND THEMSELVES.

IT'S A PREDATOR/PREY SITUATION.

THE PREDATOR KNOWS
THAT THE VICTIM IS VULNERABLE.

HE KNOWS THAT THE PREY
IS AVAILABLE.

DESPITE ALL THEIR EFFORTS,

THE POLICE CAN'T SEEM
TO CATCH UP WITH THE PAIR.

IN TOLEDO, OHIO, WHEN RELATIVES
OF 30-YEAR-OLD VIRGINIA TEMPLE

DO NOT HEAR FROM HER
OR HER 10-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER,

THEY CONTACT THE POLICE
ON JULY 11th.

VIRGINIA TEMPLE AND HER
DAUGHTER WERE FOUND IN THE CRAWL SPACE.

VIRGINIA TEMPLE HAD BEEN
STRANGLED AND GAGGED

WITH A BABY'S T-SHIRT.

HER DAUGHTER

HAD BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED
AND STRANGLED, AS WELL.

ALTON COLEMAN'S FOOTPRINT
IS FOUND ON AN ARTICLE OF CLOTHING

NEAR ONE OF THE BODIES.

DEBRA BROWN AND
ALTON COLEMAN WERE VERY SLOPPY.

BUT IT WASN'T THAT THEY WANTED
TO GET CAUGHT.

THERE WAS AN ARROGANCE
TO THEIR CRIMES...

...WHERE THEY FELT
THEY DIDN'T NEED TO HIDE.

THAT SAME DAY THAT THE BODIES

OF VIRGINIA TEMPLE
AND HER DAUGHTER ARE FOUND,

THE REMAINS OF DONNA WILLIAMS
ARE DISCOVERED

IN AN ABANDONED HOUSE
IN DETROIT.

SHE HAD BEEN STRANGLED TO DEATH
WITH A PAIR OF PANTY HOSE.

THE MURDERS THAT COLEMAN
AND BROWN COMMITTED

WERE AS VICIOUS AS ANY HOMICIDES
THAT I EVER INVESTIGATED

OR I EVER HEARD OR READ ABOUT.

I MEAN, THEY WERE
COLD-HEARTED MURDERERS.

THE SEARCH FOR COLEMAN
AND BROWN INTENSIFIES,

AS EVEN MORE COMMUNITIES
ARE PUT ON ALERT.

WE WERE RECEIVING INFORMATION

THAT THE POSSIBILITY
OF THOSE TWO BEING IN THE AREA.

THERE'S CONCERN.

DO YOU REALLY EXPECT
TO OPEN YOUR DOOR

AND TALK TO SOMEBODY
IN A CIVILIZED MANNER

AND EXPECT THEM TO TURN AROUND

AND BRUTALLY ATTACK YOU
AND KILL YOU?

OF COURSE NOT.

THAT'S WHERE THESE COWARDS
GOT THE ADVANTAGE.

HELLO?

ON JULY 13th,
19-YEAR-OLD SHERRI WALTERS

DISCOVERS HER PARENTS,
HARRY AND MARLENE,

BRUTALIZED IN THE BASEMENT
OF THEIR NORWOOD, OHIO, HOME.

HARRY AND MARLENE HAD A POP-UP
CAMPER FOR SALE IN THEIR YARD.

ALTON COLEMAN AND DEBRA BROWN
APPROACHED THEM

WITH THIS STORY THAT THEY MAY
WANT TO PURCHASE THAT CAMPER.

HARRY AND MARLENE,
BEING TRUSTING PEOPLE,

INVITED THEM INSIDE THE HOUSE,

OFFERED THEM SOMETHING COLD
TO DRINK.

AS SOON AS THEY WALKED BACK
INTO THE LIVING ROOM

IS WHEN THEY BRUTALLY
ATTACKED THEM

WITH ANYTHING THEY COULD
HIT THEM WITH.

THEY WERE BLUDGEONED.

SHE WAS BEAT TO DEATH,

AND HARRY WAS BEAT TO WITHIN
AN INCH OF HIS LIFE.

I REALLY DON'T KNOW
HOW HE SURVIVED.

I REALLY DON'T.

I'M SURE THEY BELIEVED
THAT THEY HAD KILLED HIM.

THE FBI MAKES
ALTON COLEMAN A SPECIAL EDITION

TO THE 11th SPOT
ON THEIR "TEN MOST WANTED" LIST,

AN OPTION USED
WHEN VICIOUS CRIMES IN PROGRESS

MARK A SUSPECT
AS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

FOR ALTON COLEMAN,
THERE WAS NEVER GOING TO BE AN END.

HE WAS ON A SPREE.

DEBRA BROWN WILL DO ANYTHING
TO MAKE HIM HAPPY.

THEY ARE NOT PSYCHOTIC.

THEY'RE NOT OUT OF TOUCH
WITH REALITY.

THEY'RE JUST KILLING TO KILL.

GET MORE
"WICKED ATTRACTION" ONLINE.

FUGITIVE COUPLE
ALTON COLEMAN AND DEBRA BROWN

ARE ON A RAPE, ROBBERY,
AND MURDER SPREE

ACROSS THE MIDWEST
IN THE SUMMER OF 1984.

AUTHORITIES ARE OUT
IN FULL FORCE,

HOPING TO STOP THE ELUSIVE
COUPLE BEFORE THEY STRIKE AGAIN.

WHEN CRIMINAL CONDUCT ESCALATES,

THEN I THINK ONE OF THE FIRST
CONCERNS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT,

WHEN THE VICTIMS START
ENDING UP AS HOMICIDE VICTIMS,

YOU WONDER WHETHER OR NOT
THIS PERSON HAS DECIDED

THAT HE'S GOING
TO ELIMINATE WITNESSES...

...WHICH, I THINK,
PROMPTS LAW ENFORCEMENT

TO PUT ALL THEIR RESOURCES

INTO TRYING TO LOCATE
THE OFFENDER.

AS TIME GOES OUT, YOUR CHANCES
OF APPREHENSION DECREASE.

SO YOU HAVE TO STAY ON IT...

FAST, HARD, AS EARLY AS YOU CAN,

AND TAKE IT AS FAR AS YOU CAN.

A TASK MADE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT

BY THE UNPREDICTABILITY
OF THE COUPLE,

WHO GROW MORE BRAZEN
WITH EACH ATTACK.

AS WITH MOST COUPLE MURDERERS,
THEY ARE EMPOWERED.

THEY FEEL THAT THEY ARE BEYOND
BEING FOUND,

BEING CAUGHT, BEING PUNISHED.

THE DYNAMIC OF THIS COUPLE
IS THAT THEY ALMOST BECOME ONE.

ALTON COLEMAN AND DEBRA BROWN
BECAME ONE ORGANISM.

BUT THE ORGANISM
THAT COLEMAN AND BROWN BECAME

FED ON THESE MURDERS.

IT MAINTAINED
THEIR RELATIONSHIP.

IT DOES SEEM THAT,
AS THEY GO ALONG,

SHE PARTICIPATES MORE SO
IN THEM,

ALMOST LIKE SHE'S MOVED UP
TO HIS LEVEL.

A LEVEL OF IMPULSIVE
VIOLENCE FROM WHICH NO ONE IS SAFE.

45-YEAR-OLD COLLEGE PROFESSOR
OLINE CARMICHAEL JR.

IS CARJACKED AND KIDNAPPED
IN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY,

ON JULY 16th.

COLEMAN AND BROWN THEN DRIVE
TO DAYTON, OHIO,

WHERE THEY ABANDON THE CAR.

CARMICHAEL SURVIVES.

ON JULY 17th, IN DAYTON,
COLEMAN AND BROWN ATTACK

AN 82-YEAR-OLD REVEREND
AND HIS 76-YEAR-OLD WIFE,

WHO, JUST THE WEEK BEFORE,

HAD HELPED THE COUPLE
AND GIVEN THEM A PLACE TO STAY.

THE REVEREND AND HIS WIFE
BARELY SURVIVE.

COLEMAN AND BROWN STEAL
THE REVEREND'S CAR

AND DRIVE IT
TO EVANSTON, ILLINOIS,

BUT NOT BEFORE FIRST BEATING UP
AND ROBBING

ANOTHER ELDERLY DAYTON COUPLE
ALONG THE WAY.

THEY WANTED SOMETHING.

THEY STOLE WHATEVER
THEY COULD GET THEIR HANDS ON...

A CAR, A RING, JEWELRY,
A FEW BUCKS.

IF THEY STOLE THE AUTOMOBILE,
THEY WOULD DUMP THE AUTOMOBILE,

PICK UP A COUPLE OF BICYCLES,
RIDE, AND THEN DO IT AGAIN.

COLEMAN DELIBERATELY
HAD THE MIND-SET

OF CHOOSING DEBRA BROWN.

BUT SHE WAS
A WILLING PARTICIPANT.

SHE WASN'T A HOSTAGE.

DEBRA SEEMED TO BE SO EXCITED
ABOUT PLEASING ALTON

AND DOING WHAT ALTON
WANTED HER TO DO,

NO MATTER HOW VIOLENT
THESE CRIMES.

TWO DAYS AFTER COLEMAN
AND BROWN LEAVE OHIO,

THE BODY OF 15-YEAR-OLD
TONNIE STOREY

IS FOUND IN AN ABANDONED
BUILDING IN CINCINNATI.

STOREY HAD BEEN STABBED SEVERAL
TIMES AND SHOT IN THE HEAD,

BUT ULTIMATELY DIED
OF STRANGULATION.

WITNESSES PLACE HER IN THE
COMPANY OF COLEMAN AND BROWN.

AND A BRACELET BELONGING
TO VICTIM VIRGINIA TEMPLE

IS FOUND UNDER STOREY'S BODY.

THE REASONING BEHIND THE OBVIOUS
PLACEMENT OF THE EVIDENCE

IS A CAUSE FOR SPECULATION.

I BELIEVE THAT COLEMAN...
AND WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF BROWN...

WERE STARTING TO ENJOY
THE CELEBRITY STATUS

OF BEING A SERIAL MURDERER.

HE LEFT EVIDENCE.

HE KNEW HE WAS GONNA BE
IDENTIFIED AS THE MURDERER,

AS WELL AS DEBRA BROWN.

ALTON COLEMAN AND DEBRA
BROWN GO ON A SPREE OF KILLING

FOR THE TOTAL PLEASURE OF IT.

THEY'RE THRILL KIDS.

ON JULY 19th,
A VEHICLE STOLEN BY COLEMAN AND BROWN

IS LOCATED AT A CAR WASH
IN INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

EUGENE SCOTT, THE CAR WASH'S
77-YEAR-OLD OWNER, IS MISSING.

POLICE LATER DISCOVER HIS BODY
IN A DITCH.

HE HAD BEEN SHOT FOUR TIMES
IN THE HEAD.

THESE PSYCHOPATHS AND PREDATORS
HAVE NO CONSCIENCE.

IT WAS ALWAYS
IN ALTON COLEMAN'S MIND

THAT HE WAS GOING
TO MURDER THESE PEOPLE.

SO IT WASN'T A SWITCH.

IT WAS TAKING OFF THE MASK.

AND IN HER MIND,

DEBRA BROWN SEES ALTON COLEMAN
AS THIS GOLDEN PERSON.

AND WHETHER HE DOES
COMMIT MURDERS,

WHETHER HE DOESN'T
COMMIT MURDERS,

SHE WOULD FOLLOW HIM INTO HELL.

IN MID-JULY, 1984,

A CLIMATE OF FEAR
GRIPS THE MIDWEST,

AS ALTON COLEMAN AND DEBRA BROWN
CONTINUE THEIR CRIME SPREE,

PREYING ON THE WEAK
AND KINDHEARTED.

ALTON COLEMAN TOOK
ADVANTAGE OF TRUSTING PEOPLE,

AND THEN, IN A COWARDLY WAY,
HE ATTACKED,

BRUTALLY MURDERED THEM,
AND TOOK THEIR POSSESSIONS.

WHEN COLEMAN AND BROWN
WERE COMMITTING THESE MURDERS,

MY INITIAL THOUGHT...

THAT BROWN WAS JUST FOLLOWING
COLEMAN'S LEAD.

SHE WAS MORE
OF A WILLING PARTICIPATE

THAN EVEN I HAD ANTICIPATED.

DEBRA BROWN WASN'T
AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS THREATENED

OR IN A DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE
RELATIONSHIP.

DEBRA BROWN
BECAME A WILLING PARTICIPANT,

TO THE POINT
WHERE SHE WOULD OFTEN

HELP APPROACH THE VICTIMS FIRST.

SHE WAS JUST AS VICIOUS,
JUST AS COLD,

AND JUST AS COWARDLY AS HE WAS.

WITH NOT ONE, BUT
TWO SAVAGE KILLERS ON THE LOOSE,

LAW ENFORCEMENT USE EVERYTHING
AT THEIR DISPOSAL

TO BRING AN END
TO THE UNRELENTING MAYHEM.

THE FBI DID A PROFILE.

IT HAD PREDICTED THAT THEY WOULD
HEAD BACK TO WAUKEGAN.

WE PREPARED FOR THAT.

WE BRIEFED OUR PATROL UNITS.

WE BRIEFED ALL OUR POLICEMEN.

THE FBI AGENT WENT TO EVANSTON.

AND HE BRIEFED THEM.

HE PLACED A LOT
OF THE WANTED POSTERS

ALL OVER EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

ANTICIPATING
THE COUPLE'S NEXT MOVE,

AUTHORITIES CAST A WIDE NET
IN A MASSIVE PUSH

TO STOP COLEMAN AND BROWN
ONCE AND FOR ALL.

COLEMAN AND BROWN WERE SEEN IN
A PARK IN EVANSTON, ILLINOIS...

...BY SOMEBODY WHO KNEW THEM.

HE CALLED THE EVANSTON POLICE.

ON JULY 20, 1984,

ALTON COLEMAN AND DEBRA BROWN
ARE ARRESTED,

BRINGING AN END
THEIR 53-DAY REIGN OF TERROR.

THEY FOUND A KNIFE
ON COLEMAN, GUN ON DEBRA BROWN.

THEY DIDN'T GIVE THEM
THE OPPORTUNITY

TO HURT ANYBODY ELSE,

AND THE CAPTURE WENT...
IN POLICE TERMS, WENT PERFECT.

THERE WAS SOME SPECULATION

THAT HE MAY HAVE BEEN TIRED
OF RUNNING,

THAT ALTON COLEMAN HAD DECIDED
THAT HE'D BEEN ON THE RUN

AND THAT HE DIDN'T WANT
TO RUN ANYMORE.

AND FOR US,
WE'RE GLAD THEY'RE CAUGHT.

WE'RE GLAD THEY'RE IN CUSTODY.

BUT FOR OUR RESIDENTS
AND THE VICTIMS,

THEY'RE NOW OFF THE STREET.

THAT WAS THE BIG DEAL.

DURING THEIR EIGHT-WEEK RAMPAGE,

COLEMAN AND BROWN ARE BELIEVED
TO HAVE COMMITTED 8 HOMICIDES...

7 RAPES...

3 KIDNAPPINGS...

AND 14 ARMED ROBBERIES.

IT WAS A GREAT RELIEF
THAT HE WAS IN CUSTODY

AND THAT WE WOULD NOW BE ABLE TO
MOVE AHEAD WITH SEEKING JUSTICE.

PROSECUTORS IN 20 JURISDICTIONS

MEET TO DECIDE HOW
TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THEIR CASES

AGAINST COLEMAN AND BROWN.

PART OF THE CONSIDERATION OF WHO
WOULD PROSECUTE THE CASE FIRST

WOULD BE WHETHER THEY WOULD SEEK
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

THE DECISION WAS MADE THAT
THE FIRST CASE WOULD GO TO OHIO.

AFTER MONTHS
OF PRETRIAL PREPARATION,

ALTON COLEMAN AND DEBRA BROWN

ARE FIRST TRIED FOR THE
KIDNAPPING OF OLINE CARMICHAEL.

AND ON JANUARY 7, 1985,

A JUDGE SENTENCES THEM
TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON.

THE OTHER TRIALS FOLLOW
IN QUICK SUCCESSION,

AND ON APRIL 30th, COLEMAN
AND BROWN ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH

FOR THE MURDER
OF MARLENE WALTERS...

...FOLLOWED
LESS THAN A MONTH LATER

BY ANOTHER DEATH SENTENCE EACH
FOR THE MURDER OF TONNIE STOREY.

I THINK THERE IS SOME CLOSURE

WHEN THERE'S A CONVICTION
IN COURT,

BUT THE ONE THING THAT THE COURT
SYSTEM PROBABLY WILL NEVER DO

IS RETURN THAT FAMILY
OR THAT MOTHER

BACK TO WHERE THEY WERE
PRIOR TO THE CRIME.

THROUGHOUT THE TRIALS,

DEBRA BROWN REMAINS LOYAL
TO ALTON COLEMAN.

SHE WAS VERY HIGHLY PROTECTIVE
OF HIM.

SHE WAS EXTREMELY RELUCTANT,

WHICH IS UNUSUAL FOR MANY
DEFENDANTS, TO TELL HER STORY,

WHICH WOULD HAVE TO IMPLICATE
HER BOYFRIEND, ALTON COLEMAN,

WHEREAS, ON THE OTHER HAND,

ALTON COLEMAN JUST SAW HER AS
A DISPOSABLE PIECE OF PROPERTY.

HE HAD NO EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT
TO HER

AND WOULD HAVE KILLED
DEBRA BROWN AT ANY POINT IN TIME

WHERE HE FELT THAT SHE WAS NOT
GOING TO BE AT HIS BECK AND CALL

BECAUSE HE HAD NO CONSCIENCE.

COLEMAN AND BROWN
ARE EXTRADITED TO INDIANA,

WHERE, ON MAY 2nd, ALTON COLEMAN

IS SENTENCED TO DEATH
FOR A THIRD TIME

FOR THE MURDER OF TAMIKA TURKS

AND AN ADDITIONAL 100 YEARS FOR
THE ASSAULT AND ATTEMPTED MURDER

OF THE SURVIVING VICTIM.

DEBRA BROWN RECEIVES
THE SAME PUNISHMENT.

DEBRA BROWN WOULD NOT HAVE
COMMITTED THESE CRIMES

WITHOUT ALTON COLEMAN

OR SOMEONE ELSE WHO WAS ABLE
TO FIND HER VULNERABILITIES.

BUT DEBRA BROWN
WAS NOT A MURDERER.

SHE BECAME A MURDERER.

DEBRA BROWN BECAME A MURDERER
BECAUSE OF ALTON COLEMAN.

ALTON COLEMAN
IS THEN EXTRADITED TO ILLINOIS

TO STAND TRIAL IN THE MURDER
OF VERNITA WHEAT.

DEBRA BROWN IS NOT CHARGED
FOR THE CRIME.

SHE IS RETURNED TO OHIO, WHERE
SHE IS PLACED ON DEATH ROW.

THERE WERE THREE
DEATH-PENALTY CONVICTIONS

ALREADY FOR ALTON COLEMAN,

AND WHEN WE RECEIVED HIM
IN 1986,

WE ONLY LOOKED AT THE PICTURE OF
VERNITA WHEAT, THIS LITTLE GIRL,

AND OUR DECISION WAS MADE
TO CONTINUE PROSECUTING HIM.

THE TRIAL BEGINS
ON JANUARY 15, 1987,

AND ENDS ON JANUARY 24th

WITH A GUILTY VERDICT
AND ANOTHER DEATH SENTENCE.

AFTER THEY CAME BACK
WITH THEIR DECISION

THAT HE WAS GOING TO RECEIVE
THE DEATH PENALTY,

THE JURY ASKED THE JUDGE IF THEY
COULD SEE MATT CHANCEY AND I.

WE WENT BACK INTO THE JURY ROOM.

AND THEY WERE STANDING
AND CLAPPING FOR US.

WITH THIS,
HIS FOURTH DEATH SENTENCE,

ALTON COLEMAN
BECOMES THE FIRST PERSON

EVER SENTENCED TO DEATH
IN THREE STATES.

HE ATTEMPTS TO GET HIS SENTENCES
OVERTURNED ON APPEAL

BY ARGUING, AMONG OTHER THINGS,

THAT HE WAS NEGLECTED AND ABUSED
AS A CHILD.

SOCIOPATHS ARE BORN, BASICALLY.

THEY'RE NOT MADE.

YOU DON'T BECOME A CON MAN
OR A PSYCHOPATH

BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN TEASED.

YOU BECOME ONE
BECAUSE YOU'RE BORN THAT WAY.

THE RELATIVES OF THE VICTIMS

DON'T CARE WHAT KIND
OF CHILDHOOD YOU HAD.

NOBODY SHOULD CARE.

THESE INDIVIDUALS TOOK THESE
LIVES IN A BRUTALLY FASHION.

THAT'S WHAT THEY SHOULD
CARE ABOUT.

I DON'T WANT TO HEAR EXCUSES.

IN 1991, THE GOVERNOR OF OHIO

COMMUTES DEBRA BROWN'S DEATH
SENTENCE BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE.

HE CITES BROWN'S
MILD RETARDATION,

STATING SHE SUFFERS FROM
CHILDLIKE EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

AND HAD A MASTER/SLAVE
RELATIONSHIP WITH COLEMAN.

IN MY OPINION,
ALTHOUGH DEBRA BROWN HAD AN I.Q.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MEASURED

IN THE MILDLY
MENTALLY RETARDED RANGE,

IT DID NOT IMPACT
WHAT SHE DID WITH ALTON COLEMAN.

MENTAL RETARDATION
FOR DEBRA BROWN

MAY HAVE BEEN THAT SHE
WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOOL,

BUT SHE WAS QUITE CAPABLE
OF FUNCTIONING

ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.

DEBRA BROWN
KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING,

SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING
WAS WRONG,

AND SHE CONTINUED TO DO IT
KNOWING IT WAS WRONG.

I WAS DISAPPOINTED,
UM, TO SAY THE LEAST.

SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN EXECUTED,
AND SHE ESCAPED EXECUTION.

IT MADE ME SICK.

IT MADE ME FEEL LIKE THE PEOPLE
WHO MADE THAT DECISION

SHOULD HAVE BEEN
AT THE CRIME SCENE

INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT SOME
SNIVELING INDIVIDUAL BEHIND BARS

AND COMMUTING HER SENTENCE.

AFTER EXHAUSTING
ALL OF HIS APPEALS,

ON APRIL 26, 2002,
46-YEAR-OLD ALTON COLEMAN

IS EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION

AT MANSFIELD
CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION

NEAR LUCASVILLE, OHIO.

DUE TO THE LARGE NUMBER
OF REQUESTS

TO WITNESS THE EXECUTION FROM
VICTIMS AND VICTIMS' FAMILIES,

A CLOSED-CIRCUIT BROADCAST
IS SET UP

TO ACCOMMODATE AS MANY
AS POSSIBLE.

DID I ATTEND THE EXECUTION?

NO, I MADE AN ATTEMPT, BUT I WAS
TOLD THAT THE SEATS WERE TAKEN

AND I COULD NOT GET A SEAT.

SOME PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU,

"WELL, I DON'T WANT
TO WITNESS AN EXECUTION."

WELL, WHEN YOU START THAT CASE

AND YOU KNOW
THAT'S WHAT THE OUTCOME IS,

I FIGURE I'LL BE THERE
AND WATCH IT TO ITS CONCLUSION.

I GUESS IN THE END,
ALTON COLEMAN

WAS JUST THE SCUM
OF THE EARTH...

DIDN'T CARE WHO...

CERTAINLY DIDN'T CARE HOW OLD...

DIDN'T CARE
ABOUT THEIR VULNERABILITY.

HE DID IT FOR THRILL.
HE DID IT OVER MONEY.

THERE WAS NO CHANCE THAT THIS
GUY COULD EVER BE REHABILITATED,

AND CERTAINLY THE VICTIMS

ARE SERVED BY HIM NEVER,

EVER BEING ABLE TO EVER BE
OUT IN THE PUBLIC AGAIN.

DEBRA BROWN IS CURRENTLY
IN THE OHIO REFORMATORY FOR WOMEN.

SHOULD SHE EVER BE RELEASED,

BROWN STILL FACES
THE DEATH PENALTY IN INDIANA.