Carl Patton

Last updated
Carl Patton
CarlPatton.png
Mugshot
Born
Carl Millard Patton, Jr.

1949 (age 74–75)
Georgia, U.S.
DiedDecember 16, 2024
Chatham, Georgia
Conviction(s) Murder x5
Felony theft
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment x5 plus 20 years (murders)
1 year (theft)
Details
Victims5
Span of crimes
1973–1977
CountryUnited States
State(s) Georgia
Date apprehended
February 23, 2003
Imprisoned at Dodge State Prison, Chester, Georgia

Carl Millard Patton Jr. (born 1949) was an American serial killer who committed five murders across Georgia from 1973 to 1977 with multiple accomplices. Via DNA testing in 2003, he was arrested for the murders, subsequently pleading guilty and given a life sentence.

Contents

Biography

Little is known of Patton's background. Born in 1949, he spent most of his life Georgia, having lived in DeKalb, Clayton and Henry counties. In 1968, he married a woman named Norma, with whom he would have two daughters - one in 1970, and another in 1977.

In the 1970s, Patton learned a number of trades in the construction industry, working in the field until his final arrest. In mid-1983, he was arrested for felony theft and convicted of the charge in November, receiving a year of imprisonment as a consequence. He did not serve the sentence in full, as Patton was granted parole and released on May 2, 1984. He is not known to have committed any crimes after this, and no criminal charges were filed against him until his 2003 arrest.

In late 1998, Patton's youngest daughter, 21-year-old Melissa Wolfenbarger, went missing in Atlanta. On April 29, 1999, her severed head was found wrapped up in a garbage bag in a dumpster near her home. [1] On June 3, her dismembered remains were found in black trash bags in another dumpster, but her torso was never found. [1] The remains went unidentified until 2003, after her father's arrest. [2]

Exposure

By early 2003, Patton and his wife had moved to Locust Grove, where he worked as a roofer. On February 23 of that year, Patton was arrested for the murder of 31-year-old Liddie Matthew Evans, who had been murdered in December 1977, after a DNA match linked him to the crime scene. [3] Minutes after his arrest, Norma Patton told the officers that she was willing to testify against her husband in exchange for immunity from prosecution. [4] The DeKalb County Prosecutor's Office made a plea deal with her in which they would drop all accessory to murder charges, in exchange for Norma revealing that her husband and a friend of his, firefighter Joe Cleveland, were responsible for several murders dating back to late 1977. [5]

According to her testimony, on November 12, 1977, Carl and Cleveland shot and killed the former's uncle, 45-year-old Fred Wyatt, as well as Wyatt's roommate, 45-year-old Betty Jo Ephlin. [1] A month later, Patton told his wife that he suspected Cleveland had told mutual acquaintances about the murders, and that he wanted to get rid of him. Norma said that on December 17, Carl lured Cleveland and his roommate Liddie Evans to their home, where Carl shot and killed both with a shotgun. [6] The couple then dragged the bodies out of the house and placed them in a van, after which Norma washed off the blood from the crime scene and destroyed other incriminating evidence. [6] The victims' bodies were then wrapped up in sleeping bags and dumped into the Flint River, where they were discovered several days later. [1]

After disposing of the bodies, Norma said that she cleaned the van, while Carl burned several pieces of bloodstained furniture and other items in their backyard. The couple were questioned about the Cleveland-Evans murders in late 1977 and Carl was even considered a suspect after bloodstains matching Evans' blood were found in the trunk of his car, but he was not charged due to a lack of evidence. [7] He still remained a suspect in the case, and after the cold case was reopened and the DNA tested in 2002, it came back with a positive match. [7]

Trials

Patton's first trial began in early March 2003 in Clayton County, where he was charged with the murders of Fred Wyatt and Betty Jo Ephlin. Serving as the prosecution's key witness, Norma Patton claimed that Carl had been hired to kill Fred by the man's common-law wife, Marie Jackson Wyatt, who had taken out a life insurance policy on him. [8] She claimed that Marie wanted this to be done because her husband was cheating on her with Ephlin, promising to pay Carl $15,000 in exchange. [8] Carl agreed, and together with Cleveland, the pair killed them both, dumping Ephlin's body in the Flint River while Fred's body was placed in his car and left on the railroad tracks. The car was eventually hit by a moving train, making his death appear like an accident. [1]

On March 8, Patton pleaded guilty to all charges, claiming that he felt remorse for his actions. As a result of the plea, he was given two life terms with a chance of parole after serving 20 years. [8] He was then extradited to DeKalb County, where he was charged with the Cleveland-Evans murder. [9] In that case, Norma Patton pleaded guilty and received 12 months probation and a $1,000 fine. On March 15, Carl pleaded guilty to their murders as well, receiving two additional life terms. [10]

Admission to additional murder

A month after his trials ended, Patton unexpectedly confessed to a fifth murder: that of Richard Russell Jackson - Marie Jackson Wyatt's first husband - who was shot and killed in Henry County on March 9, 1973. [11] He claimed that he had been paid by Marie to carry out this murder, which he committed with the help of Joe Cleveland. Following his confession, Patton was extradited to Henry County to stand trial for this case. [11]

During the proceedings, Patton stated that Marie approached him with the offer of killing Richard in early 1973, claiming that he had been abusive to her. He agreed, and on March 9, he and Cleveland lured Jackson to their car, whereupon they drove to a wooded area near Ellenwood. [12] Patton then pulled out a .22-caliber pistol and aimed it at Jackson, who fiercely resisted and managed to exit the vehicle. He attempted to flee from the men, but Patton and Cleveland caught up to him and gunned him down. [12]

The trial took a strange turn when Gladys Elaine Jackson, the victim's daughter, took the stand and thanked Patton for killing her father, much to the surprise of those present. She confirmed that both her father and her stepfather had abused her mother, additionally claiming that Fred Wyatt had abused her as well. [12] On the other hand, other members of the Jackson family claimed that Mary was a manipulator who wanted insurance money, with one of them, Marie Puckett, claiming that Patton should have been sentenced to death. [12]

On May 14, 2003, Carl Patton pleaded guilty to killing Richard Jackson, after which he was given another life sentence. Marie Jackson Wyatt was never charged for her role in the crimes, as she died in 1988. [10]

Imprisonment and status

Following his convictions, Patton was briefly suspected of murdering his daughter Melissa Wolfenbarger, but eventually ruled out as a suspect. [1] Wolfenbarger's husband, Christopher, was arrested for Melissa’s murder in August 2024. [2] [13] He claims that he had always thought his wife had left him of her own volition, and continues to maintain that he is innocent. [1]

As of March 2023, Patton remains incarcerated at the Dodge State Prison in Chester.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Williams</span> American murderer and serial killer

Wayne Bertram Williams is an American convicted murderer and suspected serial killer who is serving life imprisonment for the 1981 killings of two men in Atlanta, Georgia. Although never tried for the additional murders, he is also believed to be responsible for at least 24 of the 30 Atlanta murders of 1979–1981, also known as the Atlanta Child Murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Rudolph</span> American domestic terrorist (born 1966)

Eric Robert Rudolph, also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American domestic terrorist convicted of a series of bombings across the Southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured over 100 others, including the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. His stated motive was an opposition to "the ideals of global socialism" and to "abortion on demand", both of which he claimed were condoned by the United States government. For five years, Rudolph was listed as one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives until he was caught in 2003.

The 2003 West Virginia sniper attacks were a series of sniper-style shootings that took place over the course of several days in August 2003 in the U.S. state of West Virginia, killing three people. The victims were killed by a single bullet from long distances as they stopped at shops or gas stations.

The Melbourne gangland killings were the murders of 36 underworld figures in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between January 1998 and August 2010. The murders were retributive killings involving underworld groups. The deaths caused a power vacuum within Melbourne's criminal community, and rival factions fought for control and influence. Many of the murders remain unsolved, although detectives from the Purana Taskforce believe that Carl Williams was responsible for at least ten of them. The period culminated in the arrest of Williams, who pleaded guilty on 28 February 2007 to three of the murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Cullen</span> American serial killer (born 1960)

Charles Edmund Cullen is an American serial killer. While working as a nurse, Cullen murdered dozens—possibly hundreds—of patients during a 16-year career spanning several New Jersey and Pennsylvania medical centers until being arrested in 2003. He confessed to committing as many as 40 murders at least 29 of which have been confirmed, though interviews with police, psychiatrists and journalists suggest he committed many more. Researchers who are intimately involved in the case believe Cullen may have murdered as many as 400 people. However, most murders cannot be confirmed due to lack of records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph James DeAngelo</span> American serial killer and serial rapist (born 1945)

Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. is an American criminal who committed at least 13 murders, 51 rapes, and 120 burglaries across California between 1974 and 1986. He is responsible for three known separate crime sprees throughout the state, each of which spawned a different nickname in the press, before it became evident that they were committed by the same person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Kathryn Johnston</span> 2006 police killing

Kathryn Johnston was an elderly woman from Atlanta, Georgia who was killed by undercover police officers in her home on Neal Street in northwest Atlanta on November 21, 2006, where she had lived for 17 years. Three officers had entered her home in what was later described as a 'botched' drug raid. Officers cut off burglar bars and broke down her door using a no-knock warrant. Police said Johnston fired at them and they fired in response; she fired one shot out the door over the officers' heads and they fired 39 shots, five or six of which hit her. None of the officers were injured by her gunfire, but Johnston was killed by the officers. Police injuries were later attributed to friendly fire from each other's weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Jessie Davis</span> Murder of American woman in 2007

The murder of Jessie Davis was committed on June 14, 2007, in Lake Township, Ohio, United States. Jessie Marie Davis, a 26-year-old woman who was near-term pregnant, was reported missing from her home. The disappearance and subsequent murder of Davis sparked national media attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Edwards (serial killer)</span> American serial killer (1933–2011)

Edward Wayne Edwards was an American serial killer and former fugitive. Edwards escaped from jail in Akron, Ohio, in 1955 and fled across the country, holding up gas stations. By 1961, he was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara Grinstead murder case</span> Missing person case in Georgia (U.S. state)

Tara Faye Grinstead was an American high school history teacher from Ocilla, Georgia, who went missing on October 22, 2005, and was declared dead in 2010.

Michael Wayne McGray is a Canadian serial killer convicted of killing seven individuals between 1985 and 1998. He claims to have killed eleven others during the same time period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Grate</span> American serial killer on death row

Shawn Michael Grate is an American serial killer and rapist who was sentenced to death for the murders of five young women in and around northern Ohio from 2006 to 2016. Grate was convicted on two counts of aggravated murder on May 7, 2018, in Ashland County, pleaded guilty to two additional murders on March 1, 2019, in Richland County, and pleaded guilty to an additional murder on September 11, 2019, in Marion County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Little</span> American serial killer (1940–2020)

Samuel Little was an American serial killer of women who was convicted of eight murders and confessed to committing 93 murders between 1970 and 2005. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program has confirmed his involvement in at least 60 murders, the largest number of confirmed victims for any serial killer in American history. Little provided sketches for twenty-six of his victims although not all have been linked to known murders.

Gary James Lewingdon and Thaddeus Charles Lewingdon were American siblings and serial killers, who committed a series of ten murders in different Ohio counties from December 1977 to December 1978 for the motive of robbery. As a murder weapon, the criminals used .22 caliber pistols, due to which they received the nickname The .22 Caliber Killers. In 1979, both brothers were sentenced to several terms of life imprisonment.

Richard Louis Hunter is a convicted American serial killer and forger. A day laborer, Hunter raped and killed four elderly women in Atlanta between March and April 1986, robbing their apartments afterwards. He later pleaded guilty to the murders and numerous robberies, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Reinaldo Javier Rivera is a Spanish-born American serial killer who abducted, raped, and killed four women in South Carolina and Georgia between 1999 and 2000, all in the Augusta metropolitan area. He was convicted in one of those deaths and sentenced to death in the latter state, where he still remains on death row.

Aeman Lovel Presley is an American serial killer who killed four people over four months in 2014, in Georgia's DeKalb and Fulton Counties. Presley fully admitted his guilt, and as a result of a plea agreement, he was given several terms of life imprisonment without parole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Lee Duffy</span> Convicted American serial killer

Charles Lee Duffy is an American serial killer and rapist who murdered three women and 7 men in the Atlanta metro area between June 1994 and August 1997. Within days of the final murder, Duffy was turned in by his mother, who had recognized him after surveillance images of the killer were broadcast. He subsequently pleaded guilty and received two life sentences without parole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene Barrett</span> American serial killer

Eugene Walter Barrett was an American serial killer who murdered three women he was romantically involved with in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1959 to 1995. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the final murder and died in prison in 2003. He was the first confirmed and one of only three known serial killers active in the state, the others being the unidentified Honolulu Strangler and the Kauai serial killer.

In August 2000, Lee Ford, an unemployed builder and roofer, murdered his wife, Lesley, and his four stepchildren at their home in Carnkie, a village near Redruth, Cornwall, and then attempted to conceal the bodies. After telling neighbours, and the children's school, that Lesley had left and taken the children with her, Ford was arrested in October 2000 after Lesley's brother reported her missing, and police subsequently found the bodies of his victims. Ford confessed to the killings, but refused to give police a motive for the murders. It is believed, however, that Lesley had become aware of the sexual abuse he was inflicting on one of her daughters. In May 2001, Ford pleaded guilty to the murders at Bristol Crown Court and was sentenced to five terms of life imprisonment.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Andrea Cavallier (May 2, 2021). "Family vows to get justice for Melissa Wolfenbarger two decades after gruesome murder". NBC News . Archived from the original on February 23, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Kriti Mehrotra (December 22, 2021). "Melissa Wolfenbarger Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?". The Cinemaholic. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ Ralph Ellis (February 25, 2003). "Charges may grow in 1977 homicides". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Ralph Ellis (April 10, 2003). "4-time killer 's wife gets probation in plea deal". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Ralph Ellis (March 7, 2003). "Husband killed for money, says wife". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 John Munford (March 9, 2003). "Murder suspect's wife: 'He killed Liddie and Joe'". The Citizen News. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Mark Niesse (February 24, 2003). "DNA Leads to Arrest in 1977 Ga. Slaying". Midland Daily News . Archived from the original on June 10, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Henry Farber (March 8, 2003). "Victims' relatives jeer as 'Flint River' killer gets life". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ John Munford (March 12, 2003). "Confessed multiple murderer faces more life sentences". The Citizen News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023.
  10. 1 2 David Simpson (March 15, 2003). "Killer pleads guilty again". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution– via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 Henry Farber (April 3, 2003). "Murderer indicted in 5th slaying". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution– via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Henry Farber (May 22, 2003). "Patton's admissions wrung out emotions". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Ronny Reyes (August 7, 2024). "Christopher Wolfenbarger arrested for 1999 murder of wife, whose own dad was the 'Flint River Killer'". The New York Post . Archived from the original on August 8, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.