Susan Eubanks Women On Death Row

Susan Eubanks Women On Death Row

Susan Eubanks is another woman on California Death Row that murdered her children and in this case there were four aged between four to fourteen. Eubanks would shoot each child in the head before shooting herself in the stomach. According to court documents Susan Eubanks was in an argument with her boyfriend while she was drinking and taking valium and when she arrived at her home she would grab a gun and fatally shoot the four children. Susan Eubanks would be convicted of all four murders and sentenced to death

Susan Eubanks 2021 Information

Inmate NameEUBANKS, SUSAN DIANNE
CDCR NumberW82266
Age55
Admission Date10/20/1999
Current LocationCentral California Women’s Facility
Location LinkDirections
Parole Eligible Date (Month/Year)CONDEMNED

Susan Eubanks Other News

On October 26, 1999, Susan Eubanks of San Marcos, California took the lives of her four sons. The boys, ranging in age from 4-14, were all shot in the head. She then turned the gun and shot herself in the stomach. According to her defense lawyers, she shot herself as a result of an attempted suicide.

Only one other person was in the home at the time of the killings, Ms. Eubank’s 5-year-old nephew, who was found unharmed.After spending the day drinking with her boyfriend and taking Valium, they began to fight.

Once home, Eubanks then slashed 2 tires on his car and refused to let him in the home. He called the police and they then escorted him to the home, where he removed some belongings and left. According to her defense team, this was the catalyst of the killings. They claimed that it was then that she lost control of her mind and body.

After warning one of the boys’ fathers, as to her diminished mental state (The boyfriend told the father that she “Talked about killing herself and the boys”), the father then called the police department. He asked the Sheriffs Department to check on the children. When the deputies arrived at the home, they heard sobbing, and inside, found the three older boys dead from gunshot wounds to the head. The youngest was not yet dead, so an ambulance was called to the scene.The four year old boys was still was then rushed by ambulance to the hospital, where he would later die. They then found the 5th child, her nephew unharmed. They also found Susan Eubanks sobbing and suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was also sent to the hospital.

After 5 days, Eubanks was charged with 4 counts of first-degree murder.The trail began in August of 1999 and the prosecuting attorneys alleged that Susan Eubanks had killed her sons as a result of rage. The rage was a result of anger felt toward their fathers and the boyfriend, whom had all chosen to leave her. It was claimed that she felt the desire to seek revenge for the failure of the relationships; that she had wanted the fathers to also know the pain of loosing those that had been loved.

The defense lawyers claimed that the murders took place as a result of  “blacking” out; that as a result of a diminished state of mind, she was not in control of her actions. It was claimed that after spending the day drinking and using prescription drugs, along with past heartaches and current domestic disturbance, that she then became a “robot” and did what she thought would remove her pain.During the trial, it was noted that there had been allegations of child abuse and talk of revenge prior to the murders.

Prosecutors claimed that she was not suffering from a “black out” because she had to load her weapon twice before she had finished; thus giving her ample time to realize what she was doing and stop. It was also noted that while she had killed her sons “execution style”, she had only shot herself in the stomach to. It was noted that she surely would know how to kill herself, after murdering 4 others. Prosecuting attorneys believed that Susan Eubanks had shot herself to increase her chances of a lesser charge, or possibly to frame someone else for the murders.In August of 1999, after just 2 hours of deliberation, the jury found her guilty on all four counts of first-degree murder. After 2 days, they returned with the sentence of death. The judge agreed with the sentence in October of 1999 and Susan Eubanks was then transferred to the Central California’s Women’s Facility, where she now remains on death row.

Frequently Asked Questions

Susan Eubanks Photos

Susan Eubanks
Susan Eubanks 1

 

Susan Eubanks FAQ

Susan Eubanks 2021

Susan Eubanks is currently incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility the home of California Death Row For Women

Why Is Susan Eubanks On Death Row

Susan Eubanks was convicted of the four murders of her children

Kerry Lyn Dalton Women On Death Row

Kerry Lyn Dalton Women On Death Row

Kerry Lyn Dalton is on death row in California for a torture murder. For some reason Wikipedia says she was resentenced to twenty five years to life however California Department Of Corrections says she is still on death row. What put her on death row is a brutal murder where a woman was tortured using frying pans and a syringe full of battery acid.

Kerry Lyn Dalton 2021 Information

Inmate NameDALTON, KERRY LYN
CDCR NumberW42583
Age66
Admission Date04/15/1992
Current LocationCentral California Women’s Facility
Location LinkDirections
Parole Eligible Date (Month/Year)CONDEMNED

Kerry Lyn Dalton Other News

Three people were arrested in a torture-murder case in which no body was found after they admitted–and in several instances bragged about–their roles in the crime, it was revealed in court Tuesday.

A preliminary hearing is being held to determine if the three should stand trial on murder charges for killing Irene (Melanie) May in June, 1988. In addition to attacking her with a knife, a screwdriver and a frying pan, they allegedly injected the victim with battery acid. Richard L. Cooksey, a district attorney investigator with the Metropolitan Homicide Task Force, testified Tuesday that Mark Lee Thompkins, 29; Kerry Lyn Dalton, 39; and Sheryl Ann Baker, 28, implicated themselves in the murder in a mobile home in the isolated East County community of Live Oak Springs.

According to one of his acquaintances, Thompkins explained how the three planned to give May a fatal injection in retribution for stealing some items belonging to Dalton, Cooksey testified. Thompkins said the victim was given electrical shocks and then a skillet was used to smash her knees, according to the statement given by Donald McNeely. The body was cut up and the parts were buried on two Indian reservations to make it hard for police to obtain search warrants, Cooksey quoted McNeely as saying. Kerry Lyn Dalton and Baker also allegedly admitted to other people their role in the killing, according to the evidence. Municipal Judge Lawrence Stirling is expected to decide if the three should stand trial in Superior Court at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kerry Lyn Dalton More News

They stood in front of a shopping mall, shackled together, heads down, nameplates dangling around their necks, bearing the names of men and women who have died on America’s death row.

Cal Brown.

Teresa Lewis.

Cameron Todd Willingham.

Behind them, stood Victoria Ann Thorpe, dark makeup painted on her cheeks and a sign painted to look like blood stains waving above her head: “Their blood is on our hands.”

Somehow, despite Thorpe’s gory exterior, she’s approachable.

“Would you like information on the death penalty?” she asks shoppers as they exit the mall, unable to avert their eyes from the scene in front of them. She hands them a clipboard and one by one, they fill out postcards showing their support to abolish the death penalty in Washington. The cards will later be sent to state lawmakers. The group has also protested at Gonzaga University and so far has collected more than 200 signatures.

Thorpe, along with the Safe and Just Alternatives organization and The Inland Northwest Death Penalty Abolition Group, is seeking to pass a state law to replace the death penalty in Washington state with life without parole.

Some passersby wave Thorpe away. Some argue.

“The Bible says eye for an eye,” says one man, clutching a novel by Frank Peretti, a popular Christian fiction author.

“I understand sir, but…”

He interrupts, anger rising, “If you want to let them all go, then you can’t complain when they come into your house and kill you!”

He storms away.

What the man doesn’t know is that Thorpe’s older sister, Kerry Lyn Dalton, has been on California’s death row for almost 18 years. (On Nov. 6, Californians will vote on a ballot initiative that will decide whether to replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole.)

Thorpe remembers when she got that phone call in 1992.

“Vickie, I been arrested for something — something real bad … You’ll see it in the paper but don’t believe it! Not any of it!,”

Kerry Lyn Dalton, a methamphetamine addict, had called for help before. But this was different. Her words were mumbled. Her voice was nasally. She was hysterical.

“They say I — I — I killed someone.”

Thorpe writes about the phone call in her new book, “Cages” where she tells the story of her troubled childhood and her sister’s murder trial. She also writes about her own spiritual transformation from “Bible toting right-wing Christian…(who) wore long loose dresses and sensible shoes” to a survivor of spiritual abuse, forging her own divine path.

“Women were worthless in my family, absolutely worthless,” she recalls.

Today, she considers herself a spiritual person, but not somebody who subscribes to a particular denomination — anything that stands for compassion is something she can support, she says.

There’s no evidence of such fragmented confidence when Thorpe speaks publicly about her sister, about “Cages,” or about the injustices of the death penalty. With a tender smile she responds to all questions and contentions.

No, she says, the death penalty isn’t a violent crime deterrent.

No, she says, life without parole isn’t more expensive than an execution.

No, she says, her sister didn’t kill Irene “Melanie” Louise May.

Kerry Lyn Dalton was accused of torturing and murdering May in 1988 at a mobile home park in Live Oak Springs, California. She was arrested in 1992, convicted of first degree murder in 1995, and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

In “Cages,” Thorpe explains that her sister was sentenced based on hearsay evidence. According to court records, Kerry Lyn Dalton allegedly killed May using a cast-iron frying pan, a knife and a syringe filled with battery acid. But there was no crime scene, she notes. No evidence. Not even a dead body; May was never found.

Thorpe, who spent three years writing “Cages” and has re-read the 4,000 page court transcript again and again, maintains that her sister was wrongly accused as a way to get attention off the San Diego Metropolitan Homicide Task Force, which had been unable to solve a series of serial murders in the area.

“By the end of the book I think there should be a sinking feeling of’Oh, wait a minute, how’d they convict her?’” Thorpe says.

Kerry Lyn Dalton is still waiting for her first appeal.

“My viewpoint used to be that the system was wonderful and perfect and only out for justice,” Thorpe said in interview. “I thought the district attorney was the truth seeker. And I thought prosecutors were looking for the truth. Nope.”

Thorpe, of course, wants her sister’s case re-examined. But, she says, even if her sister were guilty, “I wouldn’t want her tortured in a cage, waiting to be killed, like she is now.”

And Kerry Lyn Dalton literally is living in a cage — nine cells with a’cage’ over it where she lives with 19 other women at the Central California’s Women’s Facility. (Some of the women sleep outside of the cage because of space limitations). The special enclosure was built in 1991 when the first women were sent there to await execution.

“It’s just like a zoo cage. It’s heavy mesh with a metal roof. Nobody goes in, and nobody goes out,” Thorpe described.

The death penalty is legal in 33 states, including Washington, which has seven people “on the row.” But there has been an increased focus on the justice of the system. Since 1992, 15 death row inmates have been wrongfully accused and released back into society, according to The Innocence Project.

Thorpe believes there are numerous innocent people in prison, but says that’s not the only reason why she wants the death penalty abolished. She says the death penalty is itself an evil that ruins lives by promoting revenge

‘The death penalty doesn’t work, we cannot reconcile the past,” she said. “It stigmatizes the convicted as monsters, allowing us not to think of them as humans, taking away the guilt … and allowing the state to kill another human being.”

Jesus, she says, wouldn’t stand for such a thing.

“Nothing that he did or said can be manipulated into harshness. He’s an example of a loving human being,” she said, adding that people need to learn a convict’s story, before judging them.

“I believe good is at the heart of everything and love is at the heart of everything and pain and hate comes from hurt and injury.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/woman-crusades-to-save-sisters-life-end-the-death-penalty/2012/10/29/61df1df0-220a-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html

Kerry Lyn Dalton FAQ

Kerry Lyn Dalton 2021

Kerry Lyn Dalton is currently incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility home of California Death Row For Women

Why Is Kerry Lyn Dalton On Death Row

Kerry Lyn Dalton was convicted of a torture murder

Cynthia Coffman Women On Death Row

cynthia coffman women on death row

Cynthia Coffman may look like the girl next door however she was convicted on five murders and has spent the last couple of decades on California death row. According to court documents Coffman and her boyfriend James Marlowe would go on a multi state crime spree that would leave bodies in their wake. Coffman did admit to police and eventually the jury that she did murder four people however she insisted that James Marlowe had her under his control leading to these violent actions. Jury did not buy it and Cynthia Coffman was sentenced to death and sent to California Death Row.

Cynthia Coffman 2021 Information

Inmate NameCOFFMAN, CYNTHIA LYNN
CDCR NumberW34001
Age57
Admission Date10/05/1992
Current LocationCentral California Women’s Facility
Location LinkDirections
Parole Eligible Date (Month/Year)CONDEMNED

Cynthia Coffman Other News

On Friday, November 7, 1986, around 5:30 p.m., Corinna Novis cashed a check at a First Interstate Bank drive-through window near the Redlands Mall, after leaving her job at a State Farm Insurance office in Redlands.   Novis, who was alone, was driving her new white Honda CRX automobile.   Novis had been scheduled for a manicure at a nail salon owned by her friend Terry Davis;  she never arrived for the appointment.   Novis also had planned to meet friends at a pizza parlor by 7:00 that evening, but she never appeared. That same day, Cynthia Coffman and Marlow went to the Redlands Mall, where Marlow’s sister, Veronica Koppers, worked in a deli restaurant. Between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., Veronica pointed the couple out to her supervisor as they sat in the mall outside the deli.   Cynthia Coffman was wearing a dress;  Marlow, a suit and tie.

Later, at the time they had arranged to pick Veronica up from work, Coffman and Marlow entered the deli and handed Veronica her car keys, explaining they had a ride. Around 7:30 p.m., Coffman and Marlow brought Novis to the residence of Richard Drinkhouse.   Drinkhouse, who was recovering from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident and having some difficulty walking, was home alone in the living room watching television when the three arrived.   Marlow was wearing dress trousers; Coffman was still wearing a dress;  and Novis wore jeans and a black and green top and had a suit jacket draped over her shoulders. Marlow told Drinkhouse they needed to use the bedroom, and the three walked down the hallway.   The women entered the bedroom.   Marlow returned to the living room and told Drinkhouse they needed to talk to the girl so they could “get her ready teller number” in order to “rob” her bank account.   Drinkhouse complained about the intrusion into his house and asked Marlow if he were crazy.   Marlow replied in the negative and assured Drinkhouse “there won’t be any witnesses.   How is she going to talk to anybody if she’s under a pile of rocks?”   Drinkhouse asked Marlow to leave with the women.   Marlow declined, saying he was waiting for Veronica to bring some clothing.   He told Drinkhouse to stay on the couch and watch television. Knowing Marlow had a gun and having previously observed him fight and beat another man, and also being aware of his own physical disability, Drinkhouse was afraid to leave the house.  

At one point, when Drinkhouse appeared to be preparing to leave, he saw Cynthia Coffman, in the hallway, gesture to Marlow, who came out of the bedroom to ask where he was going.   Drinkhouse then returned to his seat on the couch in front of the television. Veronica arrived at the Drinkhouse residence 10 to 15 minutes after Coffman, Marlow and Novis.   Marlow came out of the bedroom, told Veronica he “had someone [t]here” and cautioned her not to “freak out” on him.   Marlow said he needed something from the car;  Coffman and Veronica went outside and returned with a brown tote bag.

About 10 minutes later, Coffman drove Veronica to a nearby 7-Eleven store in Novis’s car, leaving Marlow in the bedroom with Novis.   Drinkhouse heard Novis ask Marlow if they were going to take her home;  Marlow answered, “As soon as they get back.”   Veronica testified that, during this period, Coffman did not appear frightened or ask her for help in escaping from Marlow.   Drinkhouse likewise testified Coffman appeared to be going along willingly with what Marlow was doing. Upon returning from the 7-Eleven store, Coffman entered the bedroom where Marlow was holding Novis prisoner and remained with them for 10 to 15 minutes.  

During this time, Drinkhouse heard the shower running.   After the shower was turned off, Marlow emerged from the bedroom wearing pants but no shoes or shirt;  he had a towel over his shoulders and appeared to be wet.   He walked over to Veronica, said, “We’ve got the number,” and started going through a purse, removing a wallet and identification.   Marlow then returned to the bedroom with the purse.   Veronica left the house.   About five minutes later, Coffman, dressed in jeans, emerged from the bedroom, followed by Novis, handcuffed and with duct tape over her mouth, and Marlow.   Novis’s hair appeared to be wet.   The three then left the house.   Drinkhouse never saw Novis again. Marlow and Coffman returned the following afternoon to ask if Drinkhouse wanted to buy an answering machine or knew anyone who might.   When Drinkhouse responded negatively, the two left. Novis’s body was found eight days later, on November 15, in a shallow grave in a vineyard in Fontana.   She was missing a fingernail on her left hand, and her shoes and one earring were gone. An earring belonging to Novis was later found in Coffman’s purse.  

Forensic pathologist Dr. Gregory Reiber performed an autopsy on November 17.   Dr. Reiber concluded that Novis had been killed between five and 10 days previously.   Marks on the outside of her neck, injuries to her neck muscles and a fracture of her thyroid cartilage suggested ligature strangulation as the cause of death, but suffocation was another possible cause of death due to the presence of a large amount of soil in the back of her mouth.   Marks on her wrists were consistent with handcuffs, and sperm were found in her rectum, although there was no sign of trauma to her anus.

When Novis uncharacteristically failed to appear for work on Monday, November 10, without calling or having given notice of an intended absence, her supervisor, Jean Cramer, went to Novis’s apartment to check on her.   Cramer noticed Novis’s car was not parked there, the front door was ajar, and the bedroom was in some disarray.   Cramer reported these observations to police, who found no sign of a forced entry.   Terry Davis went to Novis’s apartment later that day and determined Novis’s answering machine and typewriter were missing.3 Around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, November 7, the night Novis apparently was killed, Veronica Koppers visited her friend Irene Cardona and tried to sell her an answering machine, later identified as the one taken from Novis’s apartment.   Cardona accompanied Veronica, Coffman and Marlow to the house of a friend, who agreed to trade the answering machine for a half-gram of methamphetamine.  

The next day, Debra Hawkins bought the answering machine that Cardona had traded.   The Redlands Police Department eventually recovered the machine.   Harold Brigham, the proprietor of the Sierra Jewelry and Loan in Fontana, testified that on November 8, Coffman pawned a typewriter, using Novis’s identification. Victoria Rotstein, the assistant manager of a Taco Bell on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, testified that between 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. one night in early November 1986, after the restaurant had closed for the evening, a woman came to the locked door and began shaking it.   When told the restaurant was closed, the woman started cursing, only to run off when Rotstein said she was going to call the police.   Rotstein identified Coffman in a photo lineup and a physical lineup, but did not identify her at trial.  

On November 11, 1986, the Taco Bell manager found a bag near a trash receptacle behind the restaurant;  inside the bag were Coffman’s and Novis’s drivers’ licenses, Novis’s checks and bank card, and various identification papers belonging to Marlow. The day after Novis’s disappearance, Marlow, Cynthia Coffman and Veronica Koppers returned to Paul Koppers’s home;  Marlow asked him if he could get any “cold,” i.e., nontraceable, license plates for the car.   On the morning of November 12, Marlow and Coffman returned to Paul Koppers’s residence, where they told him they had been down to “the beach,” “casing out the rich people, looking for somebody to rip off.”   Koppers asked Marlow if he knew where Veronica was;  after placing two telephone calls, Coffman learned Veronica was in police custody.   On the Koppers’ coffee table, Marlow saw a newspaper containing an article about Novis’s disappearance with a photograph of her car.   Marlow told Cynthia Coffman they had to get rid of the car.

  Paul Koppers refused Marlow’s request to leave some property at his house. Cynthia Coffman and Marlow left the Koppers residence and drove to Big Bear, where they checked into the Bavarian Lodge using a credit card belonging to one Lynell Murray (other evidence showed defendants had killed Murray on November 12).   Their subsequent purchases using Murray’s credit card alerted authorities to their whereabouts, and they were arrested on November 14 as they were walking on Big Bear Boulevard, wearing bathing suits despite the cold weather.   Cynthia Coffman had a loaded .22-caliber gun in her purse.   Novis’s abandoned car was found on a dirt road south of Santa’s Village, about a quarter-mile off Highway 18.   Despite Coffman’s efforts to wipe their fingerprints from the car, her prints were found on the license plate, hood and ashtray;  a print on the hood of the car was identified as Marlow’s.  

A resident of the Big Bear area later found discarded on his property a pair of gray slacks with handcuffs in the pocket, as well as a receipt and clothing from the Alpine Sports Center, where Cynthia Coffman and Marlow had made purchases.  

Marlow’s Case Dr. Robert Bucklin, a forensic pathologist, reviewed the autopsy report and related testimony by Dr. Reiber.   Based on the lack of anal tearing or other trauma, Dr. Bucklin opined there was insufficient evidence to establish that Novis had suffered anal penetration.   He also questioned Dr. Reiber’s conclusion that Novis might have been suffocated, as opposed to aspirating sandy material during the killing or coming into contact with it during the burial process.  

Coffman’s Case Cynthia Coffman testified on her own behalf, describing her relationship with Marlow, his threats and violence toward her, and other murders in which, out of fear that he would harm her or her son, she had participated with him while nonetheless lacking any intent to kill.   Coffman also presented the testimony of Dr. Lenore Walker, a psychologist and expert on battered woman syndrome, in support of her defense that she lacked the intent to kill.   The trial court admitted much of this evidence over Marlow’s objections. Coffman testified she was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1962 and, following her graduation from high school, gave birth to a son, Joshua, in August 1980.   Shortly thereafter she married Joshua’s father, Ron Coffman, from whom she separated in April 1982.   In April 1984, Coffman left St. Louis for Arizona, leaving Joshua in his father’s care, intending to come back for him when she was settled in Arizona. Cynthia Coffman testified that when she met Marlow in April 1986, she was involved in a steady relationship with Doug Huntley.   She and Huntley had lived in Page, Arizona, before moving to Barstow, where Huntley took a job in construction.   Cynthia Coffman, who previously had worked as a bartender and waitress, was briefly employed in Barstow and also sold methamphetamine.  

In April 1986, both Cynthia Coffman and Huntley were arrested after an altercation at a 7-Eleven store in which Coffman pulled a gun on several men who were “hassling” Huntley and “ going to jump him.”   Charged with possession of a loaded weapon and methamphetamine, Coffman was released after five days.   The day after she was released, Marlow, whom she had never met, showed up at the apartment she shared with Huntley.   Marlow said he had been in jail with Huntley and had told him he would check on Coffman to make sure she was all right.   Cynthia Coffman and Marlow spent about an hour together on that occasion and smoked some marijuana.   After Huntley’s release, he and Cynthia Coffman visited Marlow at the Barstow motel where Marlow was staying.

By June 1986, Huntley was again in custody and Cynthia Coffman was preparing to leave him when Marlow reappeared at her apartment.   At Marlow’s request, Coffman drove him to the home of his cousin, Debbie Schwab, in Fontana;  while there, he purchased methamphetamine. Within a few days, Coffman moved with Marlow to Newberry Springs, where they stayed with Marlow’s friends Steve and Karen Schmitt.   During this period, Marlow told her he was a hit man, a martial arts expert and a White supremacist, and that he had killed Black people in prison.   In Newberry Springs, Cynthia Coffman testified, Marlow for the first time tied her up and beat her after accusing her of flirting with another man.   During this episode, his demeanor and voice changed;  she referred to this persona as Folsom Wolf, after the prison where Marlow had been incarcerated, and over the course of her testimony identified several other occasions when Marlow had seemed to become Wolf and behaved violently toward her.   After this initial beating, he apologized, said it would never happen again, and treated her better for a couple of days.   She discovered he had taken her address book containing her son’s and parents’ addresses and phone numbers, and he refused to give it back.   He became critical of the way she did things and when angry with her would call her names.   He refused to let her go anywhere without him, saying that if she ever left him, he would kill her son and family. After some weeks in Newberry Springs, Marlow told Cynthia Coffman his father had died and left him some property in Kentucky and that they would go there.   Cynthia Coffman would get her son back, he suggested, and they would live together in Kentucky or else sell everything and move somewhere else.   Marlow prevailed on her to steal a friend’s truck for the journey;  after having it repainted black, they set off. Not long before they left, Marlow bit her fingernails down to the quick.  

They went by way of Colorado, where they stayed with a former supervisor of Marlow’s, Gene Kelly, who discussed the possibility of Marlow’s working for him again in Georgia.   They then passed through St. Louis.   Arriving in the evening and reaching her parents by telephone at midnight, Cynthia Coffman was told it was too late for her to visit that night;  the next morning, Marlow told her there was no time for her to see her son.   Accordingly, although Cynthia Coffman had not seen her son since Christmas 1984, they drove straight to Kentucky. On arriving, they stayed with Marlow’s friend Greg (“Lardo”) Lyons and his wife Linda in the town of Pine Knot. Marlow informed Cynthia Coffman the real reason for the trip was to carry out a contract killing on a “snitch.”   Once they had located the intended victim’s house, Marlow told her she was to do the killing.   She protested, but ultimately did as he directed, carrying a gun, fashioning her bandana into a halter top, and luring the victim out of his house on the pretext of needing help with her car.   When the victim, who had a gun tucked into his belt, had come to the spot where their truck was parked and was taking a look under the hood, Marlow appeared and demanded to know what the man was doing with his sister.   Marlow then grabbed the man’s gun.   Cynthia Coffman testified she heard a shot go off, but did not see what happened.   Cynthia Coffman and Marlow returned to Lyons’s home.   Sometime later, Marlow and Lyons left the house and returned with a wad of money.   Cynthia Coffman counted it:  there was $5,000. Coffman testified that Marlow subjected her to several severe beatings in Kentucky.   In mid-August 1986, they drove to Atlanta, where Marlow told her he had a job.   While in a bar after his fourth day working for Gene Kelly, Marlow became angry at Cynthia Coffman.   That night, in their hotel room, he began beating her, took a pair of scissors, threatened to cut her eye out, and then cut off all her hair.   He forced her out of the motel room without her clothes, let her back in and forcibly sodomized her.  

Marlow failed to show up for work the next day and was fired.   They then returned to Kentucky, where they unsuccessfully attempted a burglary and spent time going on “pot hunts,” i.e., searching rural areas for marijuana plants to steal.   Just before they left Kentucky to go to Arizona, they stole a station wagon. Back in Arizona, they burglarized Doug Huntley’s parents’ house and stole a safe.   After opening it to find only some papers and 10 silver dollars, they took the coins and buried the safe in the desert.   Returning to Newberry Springs and again briefly staying with the Schmitts, they sold the stolen car and stole two rings belonging to their hosts, pawning one and trading the other for methamphetamine. From Newberry Springs, in early October 1986, Marlow and Cynthia Coffman took a bus to Fontana, where they again stayed with Marlow’s cousins, the Schwabs.   During that visit, Marlow tattooed Coffman’s buttocks with the words “Property of Folsom Wolf” and her ring finger with the letters “W-O-L-F” and lightning bolts, telling her it was a wedding ring.   Leaving the Schwab residence in late October, they hitchhiked to the house of Rita Robbeloth and her son Curtis, who were friends of Marlow’s sister, Veronica.   From there, Veronica brought Cynthia Coffman and Marlow to the home she shared with her husband, Paul, and his brother, Steve.  

At the Robbeloth residence one day, Cynthia Coffman, Marlow and Veronica were sharing some methamphetamine, and Marlow became enraged over Coffman’s request for an equal share.   Although Cynthia Coffman quickly backed down, Marlow began punching her and threatened to leave her by the side of the road.   Later, back at the Koppers residence, Marlow continued to beat, kick and threaten to kill her, forced her to consume four pills he told her were cyanide, extinguished a cigarette on her face and stabbed her in the leg, rendering her unconscious for a day and unable to walk for two days. Cynthia Coffman recounted how she and Marlow, along with Veronica, left the Koppers residence and came to stay at the Drinkhouse residence the night before they abducted Novis.  

On the morning of November 7, 1986, Marlow told her to put on a dress, saying they would not be able to rob anyone if they were not dressed nicely.   Marlow borrowed a suit from Curtis Robbeloth and told Cynthia Coffman they had to “get a girl.”   She testified she did not understand he intended to kill the girl.   After dropping Veronica off at her job, Coffman and Marlow drove around in Veronica’s car looking for someone to rob.   Eventually they parked in front of the Redlands Mall. When they saw Novis’s white car pull up in front of them and Novis enter the mall, Marlow said, “That is the one we are going to get,” despite Coffman’s protests that the girl was too young to have money.   He directed Coffman to get out of the car and ask Novis for a ride when the latter returned to her car.   Cynthia Coffman complied, asking Novis if she could give them a ride to the University of Redlands.   When Novis agreed, Marlow got in the two-seater car with Coffman on his lap.   As Novis drove, Marlow took the gun from Coffman, displayed it and told Novis to pull over.   Then Coffman drove while Novis, handcuffed, sat on Marlow’s lap.   He told Novis they were going to a friend’s house and directed Cynthia Coffman to the Drinkhouse residence, where they arrived between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. When Novis told them she had something to do that evening, Marlow assured her, “Oh, you’ll make it where you are going.   Don’t worry.” As Marlow went in and out of the bedroom at the Drinkhouse residence, Coffman sat with Novis.   When Novis asked if she was going to be allowed to leave, Cynthia Coffman told her to do what Marlow said and he would let her go.   Showing Novis the stab wound on her leg, Coffman told her Marlow was “just crazy.”   Marlow dispatched Coffman to make coffee and proceeded to try to get Novis to disclose her personal identification number (PIN).  

Finally Novis gave him a number.   Marlow then taped Novis’s mouth and said, “We are going to take a shower.”   He removed Novis’s clothes and put her, still handcuffed, into the shower.   Cynthia Coffman testified he told her (Coffman) to get into the shower, but she refused.   Thinking Marlow was going to rape Novis, Cynthia Coffman testified she “turned around” and “walked away” into the living room.   There she retrieved her jeans and returned to the bedroom to get dressed.   Cynthia Coffman denied either arousing Marlow sexually or having anything to do with anything that happened in the shower.   When Marlow told her to dress Novis, Cynthia Coffman responded that if he uncuffed her, she could do so herself.   He removed the handcuffs to permit Novis to dress, then handcuffed her again to a bedpost.

Around this time, Veronica arrived at the Drinkhouse residence.   Marlow took Novis’s purse, directed Veronica to get his bag out of her car, and told Cynthia Coffman and his sister to go to the store, where they bought sodas and cigarettes.   Back at the Drinkhouse residence, Veronica departed and, soon thereafter, Marlow, Coffman and Novis left, with Coffman driving and Novis, duct tape on her mouth, handcuffed, and covered with blankets, in the back of the car.   Marlow told Coffman to drive to their drug connection in Fontana, but directed her into a vineyard.   There, Marlow and Novis got out of the car, and he removed her handcuffs and tape.   He explained they could not bring a stranger to the drug connection’s house, so he would wait there with Novis while Cynthia Coffman scored the dope.   They walked off, with Marlow carrying a blanket and a bag containing a shovel.

Cynthia Coffman testified she felt confused at that point because she possessed only $15, insufficient funds for a drug purchase.   Believing Marlow intended to rape Novis, she backed the car out of the vineyard, parked down the street and smoked a cigarette.   When she returned, no one was there.   She could hear the sound of digging. Some 10 to 15 minutes later Marlow reappeared, alone.   Without speaking, he threw some items into the back of the car and, after Cynthia Coffman had driven for a while, began to hit her and berated her for driving away. They returned to the Robbeloth residence, where Marlow changed clothes.  

Next they drove to a First Interstate Bank branch, but were unable to access Novis’s account because she had given them the wrong PIN. From there, around 9:30 p.m., they went to Novis’s apartment and, after a search, found a card on which Novis had written her PIN. They also took a typewriter, a telephone answering machine and a small amount of cash.   They returned to the Robbeloth residence, where Marlow spoke with Veronica, who then drove them around unsuccessfully looking for a friend to buy the answering machine.  

Leaving Veronica around 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., Cynthia Coffman and Marlow tried again to access Novis’s account, only to learn there was not enough money in the account to enable them to withdraw funds using the automated teller.   They returned to the Drinkhouse residence.

The next morning, Veronica joined them around 8:00 or 9:00.   After trying again to sell the answering machine, they pawned the typewriter for $50 and bought some methamphetamine.   That afternoon Cynthia Coffman and Marlow went to Lytle Creek to dispose of Novis’s belongings.   Cynthia Coffman had not asked Marlow what had happened to Novis;  she testified she did not want to know and thought he had left her tied up in the vineyard.   They returned to the Drinkhouse residence around 5:00 p.m.

Later that evening, after trading the answering machine for some methamphetamine in the transaction described in Irene Cardona’s testimony, Coffman and Marlow went with Veronica to the Koppers residence, where they “did some speed” and developed a plan to go to the beach in Orange County on Marlow’s theory that “it would be easier to get money down there because all rich people live down at the beach.”   Veronica drove Coffman and Marlow back to Novis’s car, which they drove to Huntington Beach, arriving at sunrise. After lying on the beach for several hours, they looked unsuccessfully for people to rob.   Marlow berated Cynthia Coffman for their inability to find a victim, held a gun to her head and ordered her to drive.   After threatening to shoot her, he began to punch the stab wound on her leg.   That night, they slept in the car in front of some houses near the beach.   The next day, Coffman cashed a check on Novis’s account, receiving $15.   They continued their search for a potential victim and eventually bought dinner at a Taco Bell, where Marlow discarded their identification, along with Novis’s.   They drove up into the hills and spent the night.  

The next day, they resumed their search for someone to rob.   Seeing a woman walking out of Prime Cleaners, Marlow commented that she would be a good one to rob.   They continued to drive around, however, and spent the night in the car behind a motel on Pacific Coast Highway after removing the license plates from another car and putting them on Novis’s car. The following afternoon, Cynthia Coffman and Marlow entered Prime Cleaners and committed the robbery, kidnapping, rape and murder of Lynell Murray detailed below (see post, 34 Cal.4th at pp. 32-34, 17 Cal.Rptr.3d at pp. 744-746, 96 P.3d at pp. 59-60).

Cynthia Coffman also presented the testimony of several witnesses suggesting her normally outgoing personality underwent a change and that she behaved submissively and fearfully after she became Marlow’s girlfriend.   Judy Scott, Coffman’s friend from Page, Arizona, testified that when Coffman and Marlow visited her in October 1986, Coffman, who previously had been talkative and concerned about the appearance of her hair, avoided eye contact with Scott, spoke tersely and had extremely short hair that she kept covered with a bandana.   Lucille Watters testified that during the couple’s July 1986 visit to her house, Cynthia Coffman appeared nervous, rubbing her hands and shaking.   Linda Genoe, Lyons’s ex-wife, testified she met Cynthia Coffman in June 1986 when she and Marlow visited her at her home in Kentucky.   Genoe observed that whenever Marlow wanted something, he would clap, call “Cynful” and tell her what to do.   Cynthia Coffman would always sit at his feet.   On one occasion, Genoe saw Cynthia Coffman lying on the floor of the bedroom in which she was staying, naked and crying;  Coffman did not respond when Genoe asked what was wrong.  

The next morning, Genoe saw scratches on Coffman’s face and bruises around her neck, and Coffman seemed afraid to talk about it.   Once Genoe observed Cynthia Coffman cleaning between the spokes on Marlow’s motorcycle with a toothbrush while Marlow watched.   While at Genoe’s house, Coffman and Marlow got “married” in a “ biker’s wedding.” Coffman also presented the testimony of Psychologist Lenore Walker, Ph.D., an expert in battered woman syndrome.   Dr. Walker opined that Coffman was generally credible and suffered from battered woman syndrome, which she described as a collection of symptoms that is a subcategory of posttraumatic stress disorder.   Certain features of defendants’ relationship fit the profile of a battering relationship:  a pattern of escalating violence, sexual abuse within the relationship, jealousy, psychological torture, threats to kill, Cynthia Coffman’s awareness of Marlow’s acts of violence toward others, and Marlow’s alcohol and drug abuse.  

Dr. Walker administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory to Cynthia Coffman and diagnosed her as having posttraumatic stress disorder and depression with dysthymia, a depressed mood deriving from early childhood. Officer Lisa Baker of the Redlands Police Department testified that on November 15, 1986, she took Cynthia Coffman to the San Bernardino County Medical Center and there observed various scratches and bruises on her arms and legs, a bite mark on her wrist, and a partly healed inch-long cut on her leg.   Coffman told Baker the bruises and scratches came from climbing rocks in Big Bear. Gene Kelly, formerly Marlow’s supervisor in his employment with a company that erected microwave towers, testified that one evening in June 1986 he saw Marlow, who believed Cynthia Coffman had been flirting with another man, yank her out of a restaurant door by her hair.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cynthia Coffman Photos

Cynthia Coffman
Cynthia Coffman 1
Cynthia Coffman 2

Cynthia Coffman FAQ

Cynthia Coffman 2021

Cynthia Coffman is currently incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility which is California Death Row for Women

Why Is Cynthia Coffman On Death Row

Cynthia Coffman was convicted fo four murders

Celeste Carrington Women On Death Row

Celeste Carrington Women On Death Row

Celeste Carrington at one point was a burglar with a violent streak, during three separate robberies she shot three people killing two of them. According to Celeste her boyfriend forced her to go on these robberies however police found this hard to believe. The last person Celeste Carrington shot three times actually survived the attack and would testify against her in court. Celeste would be convicted of multiple charges including murder, attempted murder and robbery and would be sentenced to death for the two murders and sent to California Death Row

Celeste Carrington 2021 Information

Inmate NameCARRINGTON, CELESTE SIMONE
CDCR NumberW55311
Age57
Admission Date12/02/1994
Current LocationCentral California Women’s Facility
Location LinkDirections
Parole Eligible Date (Month/Year)CONDEMNED

Celeste Carrington Other News

The state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence Monday of an East Palo Alto woman who killed two people execution-style and wounded a third in 1992 robberies of buildings where she had worked as a janitor.

Celeste Carrington, 47, is one of only 15 women among 683 condemned prisoners in California.

The justices unanimously rejected defense arguments that police had illegally searched her apartment and had extracted her confession with false promises of leniency. Her lawyers have another appeal pending, claiming that Celeste Carrington’s trial defense was incompetent.

Carrington was raised in poverty in Philadelphia and was abused by both parents and impregnated by her father at age 14, according to defense testimony. She eventually attended a community college in Southern California and starred in track and field, competing internationally in the shot put.

Carrington had no criminal record before the murders but had been fired from her job as a janitor in December 1991 for stealing checks. Witnesses at her trial said she had been providing financial support for her partner and the woman’s three children

Carrington admitted fatally shooting Victor Esparza, 34, a janitor at a shoe factory in San Carlos, in January 1992, and Caroline Gleason, 36, a property manager at a real estate office in Palo Alto, in another robbery two months later, police said. Five days after killing Gleason, she shot and wounded Allan Marks, a Redwood City pediatrician, during a robbery of his office, authorities said.

Carrington told police she had gone to all three offices with a stolen gun and keys she had kept from her work as a janitor.

Gleason was on her knees before Carrington when she was shot, and Esparza was either kneeling or standing, with no evidence that he was resisting, medical examiners found.

In her appeal, Celeste Carrington’s lawyers argued that Palo Alto police had illegally searched her apartment and obtained evidence that led to her confessions.

Officers from Palo Alto accompanied Los Altos police, who had a warrant to look for evidence of two burglaries. When Palo Alto police saw a key and a pager connected to Gleason’s killing in plain view, the court said, they stopped the search, went back to court and got a warrant to look for evidence of the murder.

Even if the Palo Alto police were there on a pretext, Chief Justice Ronald George said in Monday’s ruling, they were entitled to be present at a legitimate burglary search and acted properly by not touching anything until they obtained another warrant.

George also said the police interrogation, in which one detective told Celeste Carrington that Gleason’s shooting was “probably an accident” and another officer suggested that Carrington had nothing to lose by admitting to Esparza’s murder, did not amount to promises of leniency that would make the confessions involuntary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Celeste Carrington Photos

Celeste Carrington
Celeste Carrington 1

Celeste Carrington FAQ

Celeste Carrington 2021

Celeste Carrington is currently incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility the home of California Death Row for Women

Why Is Celeste Carrington On Death Row

Celeste Carrington was convicted of three murders

Socorro Caro Women On Death Row

Socorro Caro Women On Death Row

Socorro Caro was a woman who decided the best way of getting back at her estranged husband was to murder her three children. According to court documents Socorro was upset that her husband was preparing to leave her so she shot dead her three young children. Caro would then shoot herself in the head in a suicide attempt. Socorro has said that she has no memory of the night of the triple murders and considering she underwent two brain surgeries to fix the damage the bullet caused this is plausible. However the California jury did not think so and found her guilty on all three counts and sentenced her to death, she remains on California Death Row

Socorro Caro 2021 Information

Inmate NameCARO, SOCORRO
CDCR NumberW93672
Age62
Admission Date04/09/2002
Current LocationCentral California Women’s Facility
Location LinkDirections
Parole Eligible Date (Month/Year)CONDEMNED

Socorro Caro Other News

Reporting from San Francisco —  

The California Supreme Court decided unanimously Thursday to uphold the death sentence of a chronically depressed mother who killed three of her children before shooting herself in the head.

In a decision written by Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, the state high court affirmed the death sentence of Socorro Caro for shooting to death Joey, 11, Michael, 8, and Christopher Caro, 5 at her Camarillo home. Her fourth child, who was 1, was unharmed.

At the time of the 1999 killings, Socorro Caro, known as Cora to her friends, was having marital difficulties with her husband, Dr. Xavier Caro, a specialist in rheumatology. He had visited a divorce lawyer.

The couple shared margaritas and dinner on the night of the killings and then argued about disciplining one of their children. Socorro accused her husband of not loving or respecting her. Xavier told her he was leaving and went to his medical office.

Socorro was convicted of shooting the three boys a few hours later in their bedrooms before turning the gun on herself. She later underwent two brain surgeries.

Reports showed she had Prozac, an anti-depressant prescribed by her husband, and Xanax, a medication for anxiety, in her system. Socorro Caro blood alcohol level was 0.138, an amount a defense expert said would have caused her to stagger.

A clinical neurologist testified at her trial that Socorro Caro suffered from chronic depression, delusions of personal inadequacy, alcohol dependence and a dependent personality.

Socorro challenged her death sentence on a variety of grounds, including the admission of statements she made before being given a Miranda warning while in intensive care after brain surgery.

The court concluded that those statements to a detective were largely innocuous and “did not have high value in the overall evidentiary calculus.”

“Had these statements been omitted, moreover, it would have been unlikely to affect consideration of the case’s compelling forensic evidence,” Cuellar wrote. “Expert testimony about the bloody clothes Socorro was found wearing provided a wealth of incriminating information.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Socorro Caro Photos

Socorro Caro
Socorro Caro 1
Socorro Caro 2

Soccoro Caro FAQ

Soccoro Caro 2021

Soccoro Caro is currently incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility the home of California Death Row For Women

Why Is Soccoro Caro On Death Row

Soccoro Caro was convicted of murdering three of her children