Month: October 2021

James Yeomans Alabama Death Row

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James Yeomans was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murders of his ex wife and her parents. According to court documents James Yeomans would enter his ex wives home and would shoot and beat the three victims causing their deaths. James Yeomans would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

James Yeomans 2021 Information

Inmate: YEOMANS, JAMES DONALD
AIS: 0000Z678
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

James Yeomans More News

ody Simmons, the 21-year-old son of victims Jake and Sylvia Simmons and the sister of victim Julie Yeomans,3 testified that in November 1999, when the murders occurred, he was 20 years old and was living at home with his parents.   He left the house at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the murders, a Monday, leaving his parents, Julie, and her three children in the kitchen.   Julie and the children had spent the previous night with their parents, he said.   He returned home at 11:30 a.m. to have lunch, and he noticed that a window on his mother’s automobile had been broken.   When he entered through the back door of the house he immediately noticed that a shotgun, which was usually kept in a bedroom closet, was lying across a chair in the den near the back door.   As Jody walked into the house, he saw his mother’s purse on the table, so he walked toward the living room to see whether anyone else was home.   He then saw his mother just inside the living room doorway, covered in blood.   His father was on the living room floor, also covered in blood.   Jody left the house and drove to the police station;  he had not seen the body of his sister, Julie.   He did not return to the house that day.

On cross-examination, Jody stated that Julie had been married to another man before she married Yeomans.   She and her first husband had two children, Casey and Brandon.   She and Yeomans had a daughter, Lee Ann, who was two years old at the time of the murders.

Baxter Etheridge testified that on the morning of the murders he traveled past the Simmons house between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. As he passed by the house, he saw a young woman jump off a small porch and push a tall, slender man so hard that he was almost knocked down.   Etheridge stated that after he drove for approximately one mile, he turned his vehicle around to drive past the house again to be sure that everything was all right.   When he passed the house again, he saw the young woman standing beside a car;  it appeared to him that she might have been crying.   He did not see the tall, slender man or anyone else at that time.   Etheridge testified that he turned his vehicle around again in order to continue in the direction he had originally been traveling that morning.   When he passed by the Simmons house the third time, a few minutes after his second pass by the house, he did not see the woman standing by the car, but he saw someone in the doorway of the house.   It appeared that the person was backing into the house and was pulling something into the house with him.   Officer Keith Galloway of the Geneva Police Department testified that at 1:22 a.m., several hours before the murders, he saw Yeomans and his teenaged son walking on a rural road.   Galloway stopped Yeomans to ask what he was doing out there at that time of night, and Yeomans told him he was going to see his brother-in-law to get a ride to work.   Galloway thought his answer was odd, because he knew that Yeomans worked at Outdoor Aluminum, and Yeomans had already walked past that business by the time Galloway stopped him.

Marion Spivey testified that at approximately 7:00 a.m. on the day of the murders, he was driving a tractor on the road behind the Simmons house.   He saw Jake and Sylvia Simmons and Julie and James Yeomans talking in the front yard.   He saw a small child standing behind the adults.   He did not see anyone pushing anyone else, and he did not hear anyone shouting.

Casey Rogers testified that he was nine years old and that his mother was Julie Yeomans.   He was eight years old when his mother was killed, and he had been living with his mother, his younger brother and sister, and James Yeomans.   Yeomans’s two sons, Alan and Donald, were also living with them.   Casey said that Yeomans and his mother argued and fought on Saturday night before the murders.   He did not know whether his mother hit Yeomans, but he thought “a couple of licks was passed.”  (R. 491.)   Casey testified that his mother pulled a knife on Yeomans and told him that he had better stay away from her.   Casey said that he thought that his mother was injured that night.

On Sunday morning, Casey’s grandparents, Jake and Sylvia Simmons, came to the Yeomanses’ residence.   Casey said that he was playing with a triangle-shaped “football” made from a piece of notebook paper.   Before Casey and his four-year-old brother, Brandon, left with their grandparents, Julie took Casey’s paper football and told him that she wanted to write his name in it.   When Casey got into his grandparents’ car, he unfolded the paper football because his mother often drew pictures for him on such occasions.   This time, Julie had written him a note, Casey said.   The note instructed Casey to say nothing to his grandparents about what had happened between her and Yeomans until they had left the yard.   Sylvia Simmons took the note from Casey and put it in her purse.

After the Simmonses left the Yeomanses’ residence with Casey and Brandon, they drove to the police station.   After the grandparents spoke to the police, they went to the Simmonses’ residence.   Sometime later, on Sunday evening, Julie arrived at her parents’ home and she brought Lee Ann, Casey’s younger half-sister, with her.   Julie and the three children spent the night with the Simmonses.

Casey testified that all of the family members were awake and in the kitchen on Monday morning when his Uncle Jody went to work.   Casey said that the rest of the family intended to enroll him in the local school that morning.   Casey, Brandon, and Lee Ann were in the backseat of their grandparents’ automobile, he said, and his mother and grandparents were coming outside to get into the car.   Yeomans and his son, Alan, appeared from behind the carport.   Yeomans told Julie that he wanted her and Lee Ann to come home with him.   Casey said that his mother refused and she told Yeomans that “she was tired of being beaten on․” (R. 502.)   Yeomans then told Julie to get Lee Ann and her belongings and he would take her home.   Casey said that Julie refused Yeomans’s request, and the two argued and yelled.

Casey testified that his grandfather said he was going to get his shotgun and walked toward the house.   Yeomans told Alan to block the door, and he did.   Casey said that Alan and Jake “tied up and wrestled and fell down the stairs and stuff.”  (R. 503.)   Casey said that, somehow, Yeomans got his mother and grandmother into the house.   The three children had remained in the car during this time.

Casey and Brandon then got out of the car.   At Casey’s direction, the car doors were locked with Lee Ann inside.   Casey explained, “I just wanted to keep her as safe as I could because I didn’t think she wanted to see what was going to happen.”  (R. 504.)   Casey and Brandon then ran toward the house.   Jake and Alan were still wrestling in the yard.

When Casey entered the house, he saw his grandmother on the floor.   He knew she had been hurt because her glasses were broken and had fallen off and blood was “coming out of her face.”  (R. 505.)   Casey asked where his mother was, and his grandmother pointed toward the hallway.   Casey went to his mother, who was on the floor “with blood coming out of her head.”  (R. 506.)   Casey hugged her and got blood on his shirt, he said.   Yeomans told Casey and Brandon to sit on the couch, and they did.   Casey said that he and Brandon were crying and that Brandon was screaming, so Yeomans told them, while brandishing a metal pipe, to shut up or they would be next.   Casey had previously seen the metal pipe in his grandparents’ front yard.   Yeomans went outside, and Casey went to check on his mother.   He asked Julie what had happened and she told Casey that Yeomans had hit her.   Casey asked what Yeomans had hit her with, because he knew Yeomans could not have hit her that hard with his hand and because he had not seen Yeomans hit his mother.   Julie did not answer Casey’s questions, so he returned to the couch.

Casey testified that he saw Yeomans drag Jake Simmons by the hand up the porch stairs and into the house.   He then saw Yeomans hit his grandfather on the head with the pipe.   Casey said that he and Brandon remained on the couch while his mother and grandparents were on the floor, beaten.   His mother and grandparents were moaning and groaning, Casey said.   Yeomans went to Casey’s grandmother, said something like, “Shut up, you bitch,” and pushed her with his foot.

Yeomans told Alan to go outside to get Lee Ann out of the car, which he did.   Casey testified that Yeomans then checked Jake’s shotgun and found that it was not loaded.   Yeomans then went to Jody’s room and retrieved the .22-caliber rifle Jody kept there.   Yeomans told Alan to take Lee Ann and the boys to another room and to keep them there.   Casey saw Yeomans go into the living room and he heard at least three gunshots.   Yeomans then told the children to get into their mother’s car.   Casey identified his mother’s purse and said that Yeomans took it with them when they left the crime scene.

Yeomans drove with the four children to his sister’s house in Florida.   When a police officer arrived at the sister’s house, Casey told him that two black men had broken in and killed his mother and his grandparents and that Yeomans had knocked the men out and saved the children.   Casey testified that Yeomans told him to tell the police that story.   Casey said he did as Yeomans instructed because Yeomans also said that if Casey and Brandon told the truth instead, he would kill them.   On cross-examination, defense counsel asked Casey if, during the drive to Florida, he, not Yeomans, had concocted the story about the two black men killing his mother and grandparents.   Casey denied that he had done so and stated, “I didn’t say a whole word the whole time we were riding up there.   I was too scared to speak.   I was afraid I would say the wrong thing and I would get killed.   That’s what I was afraid of.”  (R. 523.)   Tommy Merritt, an agent with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, testified that he traveled to the Simmonses’ home at approximately 1:00 p.m. on the day of the murders.   He identified photographs of the crime scene that were taken before the victims’ bodies were removed from the residence.   He also identified a diagram of the crime scene that he drew that day.

Merritt testified that the window on the passenger side of the car in the Simmonses’ yard had been shattered.   A large pipe wrench was on the floorboard of the driver’s side of the car, which suggested to Agent Merritt that the wrench had been thrown in to break the window.   He said that several items were recovered close to the front door of the house, including a shotgun shell, a man’s shoe, and a baseball cap.   Jake Simmons was wearing only one shoe when his body was recovered inside the home.

Merritt stated that a loaded shotgun was found on a chair near the back door of the house and that a .22-caliber rifle was found in a hallway between the living room and a bedroom.   The rifle was near the body of Julie Yeomans.   Agent Merritt also said that a metal pipe approximately 2 to 2 1/2 feet long was found on top of an old stove in the dining area.   The pipe was stained with what appeared to be blood.   Several spent shell casings and bullets from a .22-caliber rifle were found inside the home.

Agent Merritt testified that Jake and Sylvia Simmons and Julie Yeomans had obvious wounds to their heads and that they had bled profusely from the wounds.   He testified that each victim appeared to have been shot.   A dead dog was also discovered near the victims.   Like the human victims, the dog was lying in a pool of blood.   A videotape of the crime scene was played for the jury.

Dr. Alfredo Parades, a forensic pathologist, conducted autopsies on Jake and Sylvia Simmons and on Julie Yeomans.   He testified that Jake Simmons suffered multiple blunt-force injuries to his face and to the top and back of his head.   The left side of Jake’s face was “partially collapsed” as a result of the extensive fracturing of the bones of the face.   Jake suffered defensive wounds to his right hand, and he was also shot through the face and the brain with at least one bullet.   Dr. Parades testified that the bruising around the injuries indicated that Jake was alive when all of the injuries were inflicted.   Dr. Parades stated that Sylvia Simmons suffered multiple cuts and fractures to her head and skull, and she suffered much bleeding and bruising inside her brain as a result of the injuries.   Dr. Parades stated that Sylvia was struck at least 10 times on the head.   Sylvia was alive when at least some of the head injuries were inflicted.   She also sustained a gunshot wound that entered her right cheek, then traveled up and back, lodging in the left side of her brain.   Sylvia was struck by “a massive blow” on the left wrist that caused a fracture and deformity of both bones of the wrist.   Dr. Parades stated that the injuries to the wrist were defensive wounds and that they were consistent with the width of the metal pipe recovered from the scene.   The back of Sylvia’s right hand and her right arm and wrist also sustained defensive wounds.   The cause of Sylvia’s death was blunt-force injuries to the head and a gunshot wound to the face.

Julie Ann Yeomans was beaten on the head and she was shot repeatedly.   Dr. Parades testified that one of the bullets entered the right side of her neck, then traveled downward and exited the back of Julie’s central chest area.   Another of the bullets grazed her face and passed through her earlobe;  another bullet entered through her right temple area;  another bullet entered through her right cheek.   Two of the bullets left fragments in Julie’s brain.   Julie was also shot through her right eye and through her mouth.   Dr. Parades opined that Julie was alive each time she was shot, because bruising was visible around the entrance wounds.   Dr. Parades stated that Julie died as the result of the multiple gunshot wounds to the face and neck and as a result of the multiple blows to the top and side of her head.

Dr. Parades performed an autopsy on the dog that was found dead at the scene.   The dog was shot in the chest;  the bullet penetrated the lungs and the aorta, and the dog bled to death internally.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1487284.html

Cuhuatemoc Peraita Alabama Death Row

Cuhuatemoc Peraita alabama

Cuhuatemoc Peraita was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a prison murder. According to court documents Cuhuatemoc Peraita was serving a life without parole sentence for the murders of three people during a robbery at a Popeye’s restaurant. Cuhuatemoc Peraita along with two other accomplices would stab to death a fellow inmate inside of an Alabama prison. Cuhuatemoc Peraita would be convicted and sentenced to death

Cuhuatemoc Peraita 2021 Information

Inmate: PERAITA, CUHUATEMOC HINRICY
AIS: 0000Z680
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Cuhuatemoc Peraita More News

he State presented evidence that the Cuhuatemoc Peraita, Michael Castillo, and Quincy Lewis were incarcerated at Holman Prison on December 10 and 11, 1999.   Around midnight, an incident occurred in which Lewis was stabbed several times.   Shortly thereafter, he died as a result of his injuries.

Kevin James Bishop was employed as a correctional officer at Holman Prison and worked from 10 p.m. on December 10, 1999, until 6 a.m. on December 11, 1999.   At approximately 11:43 p.m., as officers were doing a body count to make sure all of the inmates who were assigned to Dorm 4 were accounted for, he saw the appellant in the dorm.   Cuhuatemoc Peraita said, “ ‘What’s up Bishop,’ ” and did not indicate that he was scared for himself or Castillo.  (R. 966.)   Bishop testified that, if the appellant had asked to be removed from the dorm, he would have been placed in segregation in a cell by himself for his protection until the situation could be investigated. After the body count was completed, the lights were turned down for the night so that only about one-half of the lights were on.

Charles Smith was incarcerated at Holman Prison on the night of the offense and knew the appellant, Castillo, and Lewis.   Five or six days before the offense occurred, he had seen the knife that was used to stab Lewis in a paper bag at the foot of Lewis’ bed.   He testified that he had heard Lewis tell the appellant to get the knife out of the bag and that the appellant had taken the knife and hidden it under his clothes.

Shortly before midnight and after the body count on the night the offense occurred, Smith saw Castillo and Lewis together.   Lewis was walking toward the television room, but he stopped and sat on a bed across from Castillo’s bed, where Castillo was sitting.   When he did, Cuhuatemoc Peraita, who was sitting on a box that was between the beds, got up to walk away.   As the appellant walked between Castillo and Lewis, Lewis slapped him.   The appellant continued to walk to his own bed.   Smith testified that, after Lewis slapped the appellant, the other inmates were expecting something else to happen. He explained that some sort of response is common in a prison when one inmate slaps another inmate.

Smith testified that Cuhuatemoc Peraita stayed at his bunk for two or three minutes and then returned to the box on which he had previously been sitting.   After about three to five minutes, the appellant stood up and started out like he was going to leave again.   However, he spun around, grabbed Lewis around the neck, and “snatched his neck back.”  (R. 1044.)   Castillo then started stabbing Lewis in the neck and in several other places.   In the process, he also stabbed the appellant in the arm.   Eventually, Lewis put a towel to his neck and staggered out of the dorm.   As he was doing so, Castillo gave the knife to the appellant.   The appellant then “hit [Lewis] in the side” and said, “ ‘Die, nigger.’ ”  (R. 1045-46.)

Smith testified that Cuhuatemoc Peraita and Castillo had paid Lewis two cartons of cigarettes to leave them alone and that he had asked Lewis several times to leave them alone.   He also testified that Lewis could not stand the idea of the appellant being with Castillo.   Finally, he stated that the appellant had been sleeping in the bed above Lewis’ bed, but that he had changed to a different bed.

Alvin Hamner was also incarcerated at Holman Prison on the night of the incident and knew the appellant, Castillo, and Lewis.   During the night, he heard some movement and turned to look at what was happening.   At that time, he saw Cuhuatemoc Peraita “holding Quincy Lewis around the neck and Castillo standing over him.”  (R. 1029.)   He first thought Castillo was punching Lewis in the neck, chest, and stomach.   However, after more lights were turned on, he saw blood and realized that Castillo had been stabbing Lewis.   He testified that Castillo had the knife, but handed it to the appellant when the lights came on and officers entered the dorm.   He further testified that, as Lewis was falling to the floor, he saw the appellant stab Lewis in the side.   Lewis subsequently walked out of the dorm and into the hallway, where he again fell to the floor.   As the appellant walked by Lewis, Hamner heard him say, “ ‘M_ f_, die.’ ”  (R. 1031.)

Alphonso Burroughs was also employed as a correctional officer at Holman Prison and worked from 10 p.m. on December 10, 1999, until 6 a.m. on December 11, 1999.   When he walked into Dorm 4, he saw Lewis, who was covered with blood, walking from the area around Castillo’s bed.   Cuhuatemoc Peraita, Lewis, and the appellant had a knife in his hand.

Lewis walked out of the dorm and collapsed during the time Burroughs was escorting Cuhuatemoc Peraita and Castillo out of the dorm.   Burroughs went to help Lewis, and he told the appellant and Castillo to “go on up the hall.”  (R. 952.)   The appellant and Castillo complied, and Burroughs, another officer, and two inmates picked up Lewis to carry him to the infirmary to get medical attention.   Part of the way there, the appellant, who was still holding the knife, and Castillo turned around.   The appellant waved the knife and said, “ ‘Drop the bastard and let the bastard die.’ ”  (R. 953.)   The appellant, who appeared to be mad, continued to swing the knife and said, “ ‘Y’all get back too or we’ll cut you too.’ ”  (R. 954.)

Bishop also saw Cuhuatemoc Peraita and Castillo standing side by side in the dorm.   Both were covered with blood, and the appellant had a knife in his hand.   Shortly thereafter, Lewis walked out of the dorm and collapsed.   As others helped Lewis, Bishop stayed between Cuhuatemoc Peraita and Castillo and Lewis.   He testified that he told the appellant several times to put the knife down.   However, the appellant said he would not do so until he and Castillo were in segregation.   The appellant and Castillo walked part of the way down the hall, but then they turned around, the appellant swung his knife toward Bishop, and said, “ ‘Put the bastard down and let the son-of-a-bitch die.’ ”  (R. 972.)

Kevin Dale Boughner was also employed as a correctional officer at Holman Prison on December 10 and 11, 1999.   He saw Cuhuatemoc Peraita, who had a knife in his hand, walking toward the segregation area.   The appellant and Castillo were “[c]overed with blood, arm [in] arm, walking down the hall at a very brisk pace” toward him.  (R. 980.)   The appellant looked at him and said, “ ‘If you get us to a safe place I’ll give you the knife.’ ”  (R. 980.)   Boughner put them in a holding cell and locked the door, and the appellant threw the knife out.   Boughner described the appellant as “really pumped up, hyper, adrenaline flowing, just really pumped up, hyped up.”  (R. 981.)   He also stated that, on two occasions, the appellant asked, “ ‘Is he dead?’ ”  (R. 982.)

Bishop remained with the appellant and Castillo while Burroughs, the other officer, and the two inmates carried Lewis to the infirmary.   Burroughs testified that, while he was going toward the infirmary, Bishop and Boughner tried to lock the appellant and Castillo in separate holding cells.   However, he heard the appellant say that he and Castillo would not give up the knife unless they were locked up together.   Burroughs testified that, after he and Castillo were locked in a holding cell together, the appellant threw the knife to the floor.

Sergeant William James, the shift commander for the segregation area, saw the appellant and Castillo, who he described as “covered from head to toe with blood,” as they were approaching the holding cell.  (R. 991.)   After he was secured in the holding cell, the appellant asked, “ ‘Is he dead?’ ”  (R. 991.)

Dr. William John McIntyre treated Lewis in the emergency room at Atmore Community Hospital approximately one hour after the offense occurred.   He testified that Lewis had six wounds, including a very large wound to his neck, and that he was close to death because he had lost so much blood.   He further testified that medical personnel tried to revive Lewis, that they were not able to because the blood loss was irreversible, and that he pronounced Lewis dead.

Dr. Leroy Riddick, a medical examiner employed by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, performed an autopsy on Lewis’ body. He testified that Lewis had a total of eighteen separate injuries, including six stab wounds.   One stab wound to his neck cut his carotid artery.   Another stab wound to the chest went through the chest cavity and caused a lung to collapse.   He also had several superficial incised wounds.   Dr. Riddick concluded that the cause of death was sharp force injuries from stab wounds and cuts.

The defense called several inmates to testify on the Cuhuatemoc Peraita behalf.   Michael Best testified that he knew the appellant, Castillo, and Lewis and had seen them interact;  that the three seemed to get along well at first, but that the situation deteriorated over time;  that Lewis had admitted to him that he had made threats against the appellant and Castillo;  and that he had discussed those threats with the appellant and Castillo.   Finally, he testified that Lewis had a reputation for being sexually violent in Holman Prison.

James Jones testified that he knew Cuhuatemoc Peraita, Castillo, and Lewis;  that he had seen them interact;  that they initially did not have problems;  and that eventually problems developed.   He explained that the appellant and Lewis “were partners” before Castillo arrived at Holman Prison;  that Castillo came between the appellant and Lewis;  that the appellant and Castillo “paid” Lewis two cartons of cigarettes to leave them alone;  that Lewis left them alone for seven or eight days;  and that problems started again.  (R. 1134.)   Finally, he stated that Lewis made a threat against the appellant in his presence and that he told the appellant about the threat.

Darwin Knight testified that he knew the appellant, Castillo, and Lewis;  that the appellant and Lewis had been “partners”;  and that there was “a major change” in the relationship between the appellant and Lewis after Castillo arrived at Holman Prison.  

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1401669.html

Donald Deardorff Alabama Death Row

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Donald Deardorff was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a murder committed during a home invasion. According to court documents Donald Deardorff and Millard Peacock would break into the victims home, take the man hostage for several days before ultimately murdering him. Millard Peacock would plead guilty to escape the death penalty and would testify against Donald Deardorff who would ultimately be sentenced to death

Donald Deardorff 2021 Information

Inmate: DEARDORFF, DONALD
AIS: 0000Z681
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Donald Deardorff More News

Ted Turner was a minister of Unity Church, the father of two children, and a businessman who owned a warehouse and rental properties.   He disappeared in September 1999.   His decomposed remains were discovered in a remote area of Baldwin County in July 2001, after Deardorff’s codefendant, Millard Peacock, cooperated with members of law enforcement investigating Turner’s disappearance and led them to the body.

The trial of this case spanned two weeks and involved many witnesses and exhibits.   The evidence occasionally conflicted, but the evidence presented at trial tended to establish the following.   Turner was 56 years old and had undergone knee surgery shortly before he disappeared in September 1999.   He was still required to wear a knee brace and his mobility was restricted, but he could walk and drive a vehicle.

Beginning in 1998, Turner had leased a storage warehouse to Donald Deardorff and his girlfriend, Christy Andrews.   Deardorff had, at some point, stopped making the rental payments for the warehouse and Turner pursued legal action against Deardorff and Andrews in the district court.   Deardorff and Andrews were evicted from the warehouse and, on July 27, 1999, a default judgment was entered against them in the amount of $3,087.50.   Numerous dismantled vehicles, vehicle parts, and tools were left in the warehouse when Deardorff and Andrews abandoned it, and Turner was attempting to seize those items through the court proceedings.

Turner had executed a will on January 22, 1999, in preparation for a trip to Paris, France.   A copy of the will was found on his kitchen table after he disappeared.   The will had an addendum in Turner’s handwriting that stated:  “Reaffirmed 7/27/99 just in case Don Deardorff is really crazy.”   Turner’s signature followed the reaffirmation.  (C. 845.)

Donald Deardorff became acquainted with his codefendant, Millard Peacock, several years before the murder, and they became friends and worked on cars together.   Peacock entered into a plea bargain with the State of Alabama in which he received a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment;  part of the agreement involved Peacock’s promise to cooperate with the prosecution and to testify truthfully at Deardorff’s trial.   Peacock testified that Deardorff was very angry at Turner for filing the legal actions against him and attempting to seize his property.   In August 1999, Deardorff told Peacock that he planned to rob Turner to “get even” with him.   Deardorff also said that he would like to kill Turner.

On September 20, 1999, Donald Deardorff drove to Lucedale, Mississippi, where Peacock was staying with his girlfriend, Dawn Dunaway.   Dunaway later testified that she left Peacock a note with a picture of a handgun because her .38 Special handgun was missing from her house.   During the evening of September 21, 1999, Deardorff and Peacock went to an area near Turner’s house.   They climbed the hillside behind Turner’s house and planned how they would later break into the house.   Deardorff had carried a .38 caliber handgun with him, and he hid the gun behind Turner’s house before they left.   Deardorff had previously told Peacock that that handgun had been stolen from his grandmother’s house during a burglary and that he later found the gun and kept it without reporting that it had been recovered.   On the evening of September 22, 1999, Deardorff and Peacock again climbed the hillside behind Turner’s house, this time with the intent to rob Turner, Peacock said.   Deardorff retrieved the handgun that he had hidden earlier, and they entered the house through an unlocked back door.   Turner was not home.   Deardorff looked in Turner’s file cabinets, and then the men waited for Turner to come home.

When Turner entered through the front door of his house, Donald Deardorff pointed the gun at him and told him to be quiet or “he would blow his brains out.”  (R.2098.)   Deardorff and Peacock then used duct tape they had found in the house to bind Turner’s hands, and they placed him in a closet.   Deardorff left for the evening and Peacock slept on the floor.   He let Turner out of the closet to use the bathroom;  he removed the tape from Turner’s hands and did not reapply it when he put Turner back into the closet.   Deardorff returned to the house the following morning.   Peacock testified that Deardorff forced Turner to write a personal check for $4,000.   Peacock said that Deardorff told Turner that “he figured this was the best way to get even with him, to leave him financially broke.”  (R. 2101.)   Turner told Deardorff he would give him whatever he wanted, and pleaded to be left alive.   Deardorff then told Turner that he was not going to kill him.   He also told Peacock that the two of them would leave the country after they had finished with Turner.

Peacock drove Turner’s car to AmSouth Bank, taking the $4,000 check with him.   Peacock said that he took the check to be cashed because Deardorff did not have any identification.   Peacock cashed the check, returned to Turner’s house, and gave Deardorff the money.   Peacock said that Donald Deardorff then made Turner write out four “credit card checks.”   The four checks totaled $17,750.   Peacock again drove Turner’s car, this time to United Bank, where Peacock had an account.   The bank would not cash the checks;  the teller told Peacock he would have to deposit them into his savings account and that the money would be available in five business days.   Peacock deposited the checks in his account.   When he returned to Turner’s residence and told Deardorff that he could not access the money for five days, Deardorff said that they would have to change their plans.

Donald Deardorff and Peacock spent that remainder of the day and night in Turner’s house.   They watched television and ate pizza purchased with Turner’s money.   Deardorff used Turner’s computer;  he ordered numerous automobile parts using Turner’s credit cards, and he visited several pornographic Web sites.   Turner remained in the closet the entire time.

Early the following morning, before dawn, Donald Deardorff woke Peacock and told him they had to leave.   Deardorff told Turner that they were going to take him to a park and leave him on a park bench, then call the police so they could pick him up.   Turner requested a blanket because it was cool outside, so one of the men put a blanket in the car.   Turner’s hands and mouth were taped using the duct tape and he was placed in the passenger seat of his own car.   Deardorff took some items from Turner’s garage and some files from the file cabinet.   Deardorff had the handgun and the proceeds from the check they had been able to cash.   Deardorff drove the car with Turner in the front seat and Peacock followed, driving Turner’s truck.

Donald Deardorff stopped at a small gasoline service station and told Peacock to lock Turner’s truck and leave it there.   Peacock then got in the backseat of Turner’s car.   Deardorff told Turner that he did not want him to see where they were taking him, so he put a pillowcase over his head and taped it so it would not come off.   Deardorff then placed the passenger seat in a reclining position and drove to a logging road blocked by a gate.   The road was approximately one mile away from a house Deardorff and his girlfriend, Christy Andrews, had lived in until August 1999.   Peacock said that he and Deardorff got Turner out of the car and walked him to the end of the logging road.   Peacock did not believe at that time that Turner would be killed, and he did not know whether Deardorff had a weapon with him.   When they reached the end of the road, Peacock said, Deardorff told him to wait there and that he was going to walk Turner a few more feet.   Deardorff walked a bit further with Turner, forced him to kneel on the ground, and then shot him in the head four times, killing him.

Peacock and Donald Deardorff drove Turner’s car to the service station where they had parked Turner’s truck.   Deardorff suggested that he and Peacock drive the vehicles to Dawn Dunaway’s house in Mississippi and leave one of the vehicles there.   Deardorff drove the car and Peacock drove the truck, and they left the truck in Mississippi.   They spent two nights at a hotel in Mobile.   Deardorff then instructed Peacock to drop him off at a Conoco brand gasoline service station and to pick him up there two days later, which Peacock did.   The men then returned to Dunaway’s house and stayed there overnight.   Deardorff used the computer at Dunaway’s residence to order additional car parts using Turner’s credit cards.

On September 30, 1999, Donald Deardorff drove Turner’s car to a sandbar along a river in Mississippi and burned it.   Deardorff and Peacock then drove to Atmore, where Peacock entered the United Bank and withdrew from his account $17,700 from the deposit of Turner’s credit-card checks.   Deardorff told Peacock to drop him off at the Conoco station.   He gave Peacock several hundred dollars but told him that he would keep the rest of the money.   He told Peacock that he would contact him later and that they would split the rest of the money then.

Donald Deardorff went to stay with his girlfriend at her parents’ residence.   Deardorff told Andrews that he had gotten the money in a drug deal.   He also showed her a handgun and he told her he had it for protection.   On the following day, October 1, 1999, Andrews and Deardorff went to a Wal-Mart discount store in Andrews’s car.   As they were leaving the store parking lot, several law-enforcement officers, with guns drawn, stopped the car.   Andrews was driving.   The officers asked Andrews to follow them to the sheriff’s office and she agreed to do so.   While en route, Andrews told Deardorff that the officers must have found out about his drug deal.   Donald Deardorff disagreed and told Andrews that they wanted to question him about Turner.   Andrews said that, earlier that day, she and her father had heard a news report of Turner’s disappearance.   Deardorff had asked them what information had been reported, and Andrews testified that Donald Deardorff seemed surprised to hear that Turner was missing.

Upon their arrival at the sheriff’s office, Andrews consented to the search of her vehicle.   On the backseat of her car officers discovered a box that belonged to Donald Deardorff.   Inside the box the police found $18,900 in cash and a .38 caliber handgun with five unspent rounds in the chamber.1  The box also contained a catalog of pornographic videotapes and paperwork relating to Internet orders for automobile parts placed in Turner’s name and using his credit cards.   The parts ordered were for cars of the same make and model as Deardorff owned and the documents were printed on the evening of September 28, 1999.   When Deardorff heard the officers talking about the money and the weapon being found in the car, he stated, “The gig is up.”  (R. 1514, 1595.) 2  When one of the deputy sheriffs asked Deardorff what he meant by that remark, the officer testified that he replied, “[T]ake the death penalty off the table and I’ll tell you.”  (R. 1595.)

Donald Deardorff then told the officers that, a few days earlier, Peacock had given him the box to hold for safekeeping.   He said that Peacock asked him to hold the box for two days and that Peacock would then retrieve it.   Deardorff said that he became curious about the contents of the box and opened it;  he said he was surprised to see the gun and the money, and he became scared and nervous.   Donald Deardorff told the officers that when he heard that Turner was missing, he “put two and two together;  the money, Millard Peacock, the gun, Ted Turner missing,” and put the box and its contents into Andrews’s car.  (R. 1561.)   He said that he and Andrews rode around looking for Peacock so they could return the box to him.   They stopped at a Wal-Mart, he said, and were then stopped by the police.   The officers noted that the box was from a Dollar General Store, and that Andrews worked in a Dollar General Store.   Donald Deardorff was arrested on a charge of possessing a firearm without a permit.

Andrews consented to the search of the storage facility she and Donald Deardorff had rented.   Inside the facility the police found numerous items that came from Turner’s house, including a roll of duct tape, the ends of which matched the tape used to bind Turner’s hands and feet and to secure the pillowcase over his head, a pair of binoculars Turner frequently used at his house, and two cameras that a neighbor had recently loaned to Turner.

Peacock was arrested at Dunaway’s house in Mississippi on October 5, 1999.   He gave numerous conflicting statements to the police, and in July 2001, he agreed to cooperate fully and he led the police to Turner’s remains.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1487095.html

Anthony Brown Alabama Death Row

anthony brown photos

Anthony Brown was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of a woman during a robbery. According to court documents Anthony Brown would murder eighty three year old Virginia Keel during a robbery. Anthony Brown would strangle the woman using a ligature. Anthony Brown would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Anthony Brown 2021 Information

Inmate: BROWN, ANTHONY EUGENE
AIS: 0000Z684
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Anthony Brown More News

On June 19, 2000, Anthony Eugene Brown did cause the death of Virginia Keel, an eighty-three year old female, by strangling Mrs. Keel with a piece of cloth and by placing cloth as well as tape over her mouth and nostrils.   This offense occurred at 22 Trillium Circle, Apartment Number 1007, Dothan, AL., during the course of Anthony Brown unlawfully entering the residence of Virginia Keel.

“Dothan Police Department Records indicate that on June 19, 2000, at approximately 10:56 a.m., the Communications Center received a ‘911 Call’ from Marisa Bowden at the Holiday Inn South, 2195 Ross Clark Circle, Dothan Al. Ms. Bowden reported that a black male with a gun had approached Room 119 and threatened the occupants. Ms. Bowden described the person as black male, approximately 5′10″ weighing approximately 160 pounds, and wearing a T-shirt as well as tan pants.

“Corporal Scott Heath was dispatched to the Holiday Inn South and arrived at 11:07 a.m. Witnesses at the scene advised Corporal Heath that the suspect was last seen behind the Hardee’s Restaurant headed toward Fieldcrest Apartments.

“Officer Jason Youngblood arrived at Fieldcrest Apartments at approximately 11:10 a.m. and spoke to a maintenance worker at the building.   Mr. Tommy Bryan advised Officer Youngblood that he had seen a person matching the descriptions of the suspect walk into the breezeway of Building No. 22 at the Fieldcrest Apartment complex.   Building No. 22 consisted of Apartments 1001 through 1008.   Officer Youngblood requested that Barbara Rosen, the Apartment Manager, bring the keys to the eight doors in Building No. 22.   Corporal Heath and Officer Gill had arrived on the scene.   Corporal Heath observed the blinds move on the sliding glass doors in Apartment No. 1007.   The officers also observed that the television, which they had heard playing earlier in the apartment, had stopped playing.

“Officer Youngblood obtained the key to Apartment No. 1007 from Ms. Barbara Rosen.   The officers knocked on the door of Apt. No. 1007 and did not get anyone to answer the door.   The officers unlocked the door and found the chain lock to be latched.   The officers then identified themselves as officers of the Dothan Police Department.   After still not getting anyone to come to the door, Officer Youngblood forced the door open.

“Officer Youngblood and Corporal Heath then entered the apartment and observed a black male in the kitchen area of the apartment.   The black male stated to the officers, ‘You’ve got me, you’ve got me.   I did not do anything to her, she is just tied up in there.’   Officer Youngblood then secured the black male by handcuffing him.   The subject was identified as Anthony Eugene Brown and was placed in the back of Officer Gill’s patrol unit.

“Officer Youngblood then went to the bathroom area and found Virginia Keel, an elderly female, on the floor.   Mrs. Keel’s hands were wrapped approximately six times with an extension cord and tied with a knot.   Mrs. Keel’s hands were connected to her feet with one strand of cord and the cord was not long enough for Mrs. Keel to be able to stretch out her legs.   A portion of a T-shirt had been stuffed in Mrs. Keel’s mouth, and black duct tape had been wrapped around Mrs. Keel’s head approximately fifteen to twenty times.   The remaining portion of the T-shirt was tied around Mrs. Keel’s neck in a single knot.   The knot was tied so tight that Corporal Heath could not untie the knot and he had to cut the knot.

“Corporal Heath and Officer Youngblood immediately started CPR on Mrs. Keel and continued CPR until the paramedics arrived on the scene.   The paramedics started advanced life support on Mrs. Keel, and she was transported to the Southeast Alabama Medical Center.

“Upon arrival at the hospital, Dr. David Williams treated Mrs. Keel. He noted Mrs. Keel to be in status epilepticus, and he initiated anti-seizure therapy.   Mrs. Keel was unresponsive, and her prognosis was poor.   On June 29, 2000, Mrs. Virginia Keel died at the Southeast Alabama Medical Center Intensive Care Unit as a result of injuries that she had received on June 19, 200[0].

“On June 19, 2000, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Sgt. Michael Cirulli and Investigator Michael Etress interviewed Anthony Brown at the Dothan Police Department in Dothan, AL.

“Anthony Brown stated that he had no address and was sleeping in railroad cars.   He stated that he walked to the Holiday Inn Southside in Dothan, Alabama, and went to one of the motel rooms.   Brown stated that he knocked on the door, and a man came to the door.   The subject stated that he asked the man if he could talk with him, and the man told him no and to get out of his room.   Brown stated that he got mad and pulled a .38 caliber chrome-plated revolver out of his right pants pocket.   He stated that the man then started saying that he did not have any money.

“Anthony Brown stated that he then went behind the motel through a wooded area to an apartment complex.   The subject saw, through the sliding glass doors, a lady sitting in a chair inside her apartment.   The subject stated that he was going to rob the lady and went to knock on her door.   The subject stated that the lady came to her door and that he just walked into the apartment.   He stated that the lady tried to push him back out the door.   Brown stated that he pushed his way on in the apartment and closed the door behind him.

“Anthony Brown stated that he told the lady that he needed $500 real bad and that he was going to get himself some dope.   Brown stated that the lady told him that she did not have any money.   He stated that he then pulled the .38 caliber pistol out of his pocket and said, ‘[L]isten to me, don’t make me kill you, I need some money bad.’   Brown stated that he was pointing the pistol at the lady’s forehead at this time.

“Anthony Brown stated that the lady tried to run to the door twice, but he grabbed her.   Brown stated that he tied the lady up with an extension cord and laid her on the floor in a closet.   He stated that he tied her hands and feet together, behind her back.   Brown stated that she was moaning and asking him not to kill her.

“Anthony Brown stated that the lady was screaming and that he tied a shirt around her mouth in order to make her be quiet.   He stated that she kept on moaning and that he went into the kitchen where he found some tape.   Brown stated that he took the black electrical tape and wrapped it around her mouth.   He stated that he took the tape off her nose in order that she could breathe.   Brown stated that the lady told him that she was hot, and he then moved her from the closet to the bathroom where she could get some air.

“The subject stated that the police showed up at the apartments and started ringing the phone.   Anthony Brown stated that he heard the police knocking on the door.   Brown stated that the officers entered the apartment and went straight on into the back.   The subject stated that he pointed his gun at the officers, but they did not see him.   The subject stated that he was lying on the floor in the kitchen, and he then placed the gun in a garbage can.   Brown stated that the officers came back up to where he was and the officers placed handcuffs on him.   The subject stated that he told the officers that there was a lady tied up in the bathroom.”

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1381840.html

Wilson Robitaille Alabama Death Row

Wilson Robitaille alabama

Wilson Robitaille was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a triple murder. According to court documents Wilson Robitaille would stab to death Alisa Taylor and her two children-seven-year-old Robin and four-year-old Trent-during the course of a robbery. Wilson Robitaille would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Wilson Robitaille 2021 Information

Inmate: ROBITAILLE, WILSON BILLY
AIS: 0000Z687
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Wilson Robitaille More News

“In the early morning hours of [May] 11, 2001, the defendant drove up to Hamilton, Alabama, from Phenix City, Alabama, to burglarize the home of a couple whom he had met while living in Hamilton during the late 1990’s.   This couple owned a jewelry store and he thought he knew where jewelry was kept in their home.   After arriving in Hamilton he slept in his car until daylight and then went to a gas station convenience store and visited with some of his old acquaintances.   He then drove to a place near the home of the couple whose home he planned to burglarize and parked his car on a side road nearby.   He waited for the couple to leave home for work but the man did not leave.   He decided to abandon the burglary plan and just borrow enough money from someone to get back to Phenix City. Although he met someone he was going to borrow the money from his pride would not let him ask for the money.

“He wound up at the home of Stuart Taylor and wife Alisa and their two children.   He had worked for the Taylors previously and had actually lived in a camper in their backyard while working on their house.   He was well acquainted with the Taylors.   He knocked at the kitchen door at the Taylor home and was invited in by Alisa Taylor.   They sat down at the kitchen table and were engaged in conversation when Alisa exited the room to tend to the children.   While she was gone Robitaille noticed Alisa’s purse on the counter and went over to get enough money to buy gas to get him back to Phenix City. Again he was too proud to ask for it.   He was in the act of going through her purse when she unexpectedly reentered the kitchen and saw what he was doing.   She ran over to him and tried to stop him.   This was the beginning of one of the most horrifying events that has ever taken place.

“Robitaille began stabbing Alisa Taylor with a leatherman’s or multipurpose tool.  [Alisa] tried to get away by running to another room.   He followed her and when Robin began screaming he got a steak knife and went after her.   [Robin] was able to get out of the kitchen door on the carport but Robitaille caught her and brought her back into the house.   He broke the blade of one steak knife off in her back and then got another and followed her into her bedroom and stabbed her until she was dead.

“He then went upstairs where Alisa and Trent were.   Alisa asked him why he was doing this.   He replied that he had gone too far now.   He then proceeded to stab her until she was lying helpless and dying on the floor.   He then hunted Trent down where his mother had told him to hide in a storage area behind a door in the bedroom and stabbed him to death.   Then he went back out in the hall and told Alisa that he was sorry but she was not able to speak as she drew her last breath.   He obviously went back to each victim and stabbed them again just to make sure they were dead since some of the stab wounds did not bleed, indicating no blood pressure at the time they were inflicted.

“After making sure that all three were dead he then proceeded to steal bottles filled with coins, knives, scissors, and Alisa’s purse with its contents.   Then he fled to Phoenix City where he was arrested.   He later took police to a swampy area where he had disposed of Alisa’s purse and some of the murder weapons.”

The State’s evidence also tended to show that on May 11, 2001, Stuart Taylor arrived at his home and discovered the bodies of his wife and daughter.   His son’s body was later discovered by police.   Dr. Joseph Embry testified that all three victims had been stabbed to death-Alisa had been stabbed 18 times, Robin had been stabbed 17 times, and Trent had been stabbed 10 times.

Stuart Taylor testified that he knew Robitaille because Robitaille had worked with him at Fikes Chevrolet-Buick automobile dealership and had also done work on his house.   He said that approximately one year before the murders Wilson Robitaille had lived in a camper behind his house.   At the time of the murders Robitaille was living in Phenix City with his girlfriend.

The State also presented evidence indicating that Robitaille confessed to murdering Alisa, Robin, and Trent Taylor.   He gave a detailed account of the injuries that he had inflicted on each victim.   Robitaille’s statements were corroborated by the wounds each victim sustained.   Robitaille also led police to a swampy area in Lee County where he had disposed of Alisa’s purse and several knives that were used in the murders.

Wilson Robitaille testified in his own defense and offered his own account of the events leading up to the triple homicide.   He testified that he had worked for Stuart Taylor delivering drugs to Tennessee and that on the day of the murders he was scheduled to travel to Tennessee to deliver crystal methamphetamine.   While he was in Hamilton, he said, he decided to visit Alisa Taylor.  Wilson Robitaille said that when he was in the house he heard a noise and started to walk down the stairs.   Someone, he said, hit him on the shoulder and the next thing he remembered was waking up in his girlfriends’s sport-utility vehicle.   He went back inside the house, he said, and discovered the bodies of Alisa and Robin.

The jury chose not to believe Robitaille’s account of the events but instead convicted Robitaille of six counts of capital murder.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1055132.html