James Johnson lived in rural Moniteau County with his wife, Jeri, and her 19-year-old daughter, Dawn. Johnson and Dawn had an uneasy relationship and fought a great deal. On the evening of December 8, 1991, the two of them were involved in an argument during which Johnson cried out that "he couldn’t take it anymore" and told his wife that her daughter had to move out. He wife replied that if her daughter moved out, so would she. Johnson then told her to choose between her daughter and him, and when his wife chose her daughter, Johnson ordered them both out of the house. At that point, they refused to be forced out, so Johnson produced a loaded rifle and pointed it at his wife. When she did not back down, Johnson pointed the rifle at Dawn. Johnson then grabbed Dawn in a choke-hold and forced her out of the door at which time she fled.  Within a few minutes, Johnson loaded some guns and ammunition into his car and drove away. He returned later with Dawn in his car and told his wife that he wanted to work things out. Shortly thereafter, Deputy Les Roark of the Moniteau County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the house to investigate a domestic disturbance. Roark asked to speak with Dawn, but Johnson refused. His wife brought Dawn to the door and told Roark that they were both fine. As Roark was walking back to his car, Johnson pulled out a .38 caliber pistol, stepped onto the porch and shot Roark twice, once in the rear and once in the back of the hand. Johnson then stepped back inside, but when he heard Roark moaning, he went again to the porch and shot Roark in the forehead, killing him.  Johnson soon left the house in the car with his guns and ammunition, and with clothes and a thermos, and drove to the home of Sheriff Kenny Jones, whose family was having a Christmas party. Using a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle, Johnson opened fire on a group of people he saw through the window. Pam Jones, the wife of the sheriff, was shot five times, once in the shoulder, once in the face, once in the neck, and twice in the back of the head. She died in her home in front of her family.  Johnson next appeared outside the home of Moniteau County Deputy Sheriff Russell Borts. Johnson shot Borts through a window while Borts was talking on the telephone. Although Borts was shot four times, once in the hand, twice in the chest, and once in the face, he survived.  After shooting Borts, Johnson went to the sheriff’s office where peace officers from numerous jurisdictions had gathered. When word of the attack on Borts arrived, the officers rushed out from the sheriff’s office. Johnson, who was lying in wait, fired on the emerging officers. Cooper County Sheriff Charles Smith was shot four times with a.22 caliber semi-automatic rifle, once in the face, once in the right side, once in the upper back, and once in the head. He died from the shot to the head. Moments later, Miller County Deputy Sandra Wilson arrived at the sheriff’s office, stopped her patrol car in the street, and slid to the passenger side. As she started to climb from the car onto the pavement, Johnson shot her through the heart with an 8-millimeter, bolt-action Mauser. Deputy Wilson died on the pavement.  Johnson then fled to the back porch of the home of an elderly woman and hid there for the rest of the night. The next morning, he confronted the woman and hid in her house for most of the day, holding her hostage. During that time, Johnson admitted to her that he had shot five people. That evening, Johnson allowed the woman to leave the house so that she could attend a Christmas party where she was expected. Upon her release, she notified authorities that Johnson was in her house. Soon thereafter, law enforcement officers surrounded her house and negotiated Johnson’s surrender. The mother of murder victim Pam Jones, wife of Moniteau County Sheriff Kenny Jones, said she thinks of the murders every day. She ponders what her grandchildren missed without their mother, and she respects her son-in law for carrying on his duties as sheriff and raising the children.

Michael Patrick Moore was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Christa E. Bentley which occurred during a burglary in Copperas Cove, Texas, on Feb. 26, 1994. Moore stated in his confession that he had been drinking and playing pool in a nightclub in Killeen, Texas, on the evening of Feb. 25, 1994, and that he stayed at the bar until last call, after which he drove back to Copperas Cove. According to Moore, he was broke and behind in rent and had 10 or so outstanding bad checks. So when he got back in town, he decided to "look into getting some income." Moore stated that he had previously seen a photograph of Christa's daughter in a Copperas Cove High School yearbook, and he had looked up her address. Moore related that he had driven by the Bentley home one day and had seen the daughter standing outside and therefore knew she lived there.  Moore confessed that he got to the Bentley house sometime after 2 a.m.. Dressed in black clothing, he approached the home carrying a crow bar, a pistol in a holster on his belt, and a "large knife" in a scabbard. Moore found the back door unlocked and laid the crow bar down on the back porch. He entered the Bentley residence armed with his gun and knife. Moore removed his black shirt, laid it in a chair in the dining room and headed toward the bedrooms. He heard a female voice that sounded half asleep calling out a name. He mumbled something back and went into the bathroom. Through a partly open door, Moore saw someone get out of bed. Christa Bentley opened the door and started screaming. Moore stated he tried to push her back into the bedroom, but she grabbed him and kept screaming. Moore stabbed Christa several times in the chest and eventually lost his knife. Moore then drew his revolver and shot her. Moore then ran out of the house, got into his car, and drove toward Lampasas. Christa's 14-year old son awoke and found her body and called 911.  The medical examiner later testified during the guilt/innocence stage of the trial that she performed the autopsy on Christa Bentley and described the murder as "overkill" and "particularly brutal." She described that one fingernail on her left hand had been completely bent backwards and broken and that such a wound was a defensive injury. Christa also had eight separate, sharp-force entries to the body. The M.E. estimated the weapon was a 6-inch long blade and that the maximum amount of time Christa could have survived was "somewhere in the 'minutes' range." The cause of death was determined to be multiple stab wounds.  After fleeing the crime scene, Moore stated he saw police lights behind him, and he thought he was being chased because the police must have known he had stabbed and shot a woman. Trial testimony from officers showed that they followed Moore because he did not have on his car headlights. Instead of giving up, Moore led the police on a car chase of speeds up to 80 m.p.h. Moore slowed down and jumped out of the car, stumbled and tried to run, but the police apprehended him. In his confession, Moore admitted that he had previously stolen the knife and gun with which he stabbed and shot Christa from two different residences in Copperas Cove.  During the punishment phase, the State introduced records from the Conners Children's Home where Moore resided during part of his childhood. The records indicated Moore twice set fire to his house and once to the Children's Home; he had threatened to kill his parents and blame their deaths on his younger brother; and he had tried to stab his younger brother with a pair of scissors. The State also introduced evidence that as a child, Moore continuously exhibited violent and improper sexual behavior. In addition, while serving in the Navy, Moore was on unauthorized absence three times and was convicted of larceny. Moore also admitted to being involved in a physical altercation while in jail.  The State introduced a notebook written by Moore entitled "The Girls of Copperas Cove" in which he listed the names and addresses of 300 teenage girls of Copperas Cove. Many of these girls, including Christa's daughter, testified that Moore stalked, harassed, and threatened them. Moore wrote letters to several of the girls in which he threatened to rape them.  The State introduced evidence of various extraneous offenses, including several burglaries that often took place while the victims were home and that were perpetrated against the girls listed in the notebook. Moore's notebook also contained the license plate numbers of a Coryell County Justice of the Peace and a Copperas Cove police sergeant.  The State called a psychiatrist who testified to Moore's future danger to society, noting that Moore lacked a conscience, was a continuing threat to society, and that he would be manipulative, vindictive and a threat to smaller prisoners. 

On December 7, 1992, Kevin Miles and two 16-year-old companions, Levi Jackson and Ray Hernandez planned a carjacking and discussed killing someone. At 1:30 p.m. that day, the trio waited for a car to stop near the area of 24th Street and Columbus Avenue in Tucson. Patricia Bauerlein drove out of her apartment complex and stopped at the intersection. Jackson, Kevin Miles and Ray Hernandez were standing near the stop sign. When the 40-year-old victim approached in her vehicle and stopped, Jackson asked her for a "light" for a cigarette. As she reached for the lighter, Jackson pointed a .45 caliber handgun at her head and forced her to move over. Patricia's attackers took control of her car, kept the gun pointed at her, and drove her to a desert area. There, Jackson shot Patricia once in the chest. She died from this gunshot wound, which lacerated her heart and her left lung.  There are still appeals pending and the execution will probably not take place on this date. 

Charlie Alston was sentenced to death Nov. 3, 1992 in Warren County Superior Court for the murder of Pamela Renee Perry.  Evidence at Alston's trial showed that Pamela Perry died sometime during the late evening hours of November 30, 1990 or the early morning hours of 1 December 1990. The victim's mother discovered her daughter's body on the morning of December 1 after returning home from work. Pamela's mother testified that when she first saw her daughter, Pamela was lying face down on a pillow in her bedroom. When she lifted Pamela's head, she discovered that her face had been beaten severely.  The Chief Medical Examiner for the State of North Carolina testified that he performed an autopsy on the Pamela and testified that Pamela received a number of blunt-force injuries to her face. He stated that she suffered substantial bruising and swelling over her entire face and neck, bruising and lacerations to her right eye, bruising on the left side of her neck, a tear in the skin at the corner of her mouth, a series of tears in the skin on the right cheek, tears in the skin on her left ear, tears to the skin along the left side of her jaw which were approximately one inch deep, a tear to the inner surface of her lip, and several scrapes and abrasions. The internal examination disclosed blood over the surface of the brain, resulting from the blows to the face, and hemorrhaging inside her neck, larynx, and trachea. Pamela also had bruises and bleeding in the eyes. The medical examiner testified that these injuries were probably caused by a hammer that was found on Pamela's bed.  Pamela did not die as a result of the blunt-force injuries, but died as a result of asphyxiation or suffocation, normally taking at least 3 to 4 minutes to accomplish. He testified that Pamela was alive when she received the blunt-force injuries. Pamela's mom's testimony revealed that Charlie Alston and Pamela had been dating each other for approximately one year. However, at some point in time prior to the murder, difficulties arose between the two of them. Pamela had been receiving threatening phone calls from Alston and he kept telling her that she had a beautiful face and that he would hate to have to "smash it in" and "mess [it] up." Pamela filed a complaint with the Warren County Sheriff's Department. Police testified that Pamela told them that the caller sounded like Alston and had threatened to kill her during one of the phone calls. Pamela's mother also said that her daughter was a waitress and received a large quantity of quarters from tips earned on her job. Most of the coins had been rolled and placed in a large jar on a table in the her bedroom containing more than $100. When Pamela's body was discovered, the jar was found empty at the edge of her bed. A clerk at a convenience store testified that on the night after Pamela was discovered dead, Alston came into the store and purchased gas and a soft drink with quarters. Testimony showed that Alston had also purchased $40 to $45 worth of crack cocaine and paid with change around the time of the murder. Other testimony revealed that on a separate occasion, Alston broke into Pamela's home and assaulted her and a friend. During this incident, he beat her in the head and was charged with assault. He was found guilty, placed on probation and ordered to pay for Pamela's medical bills. Two days later, she was found dead.  UPDATE: A condemned man who steadfastly denied beating his girlfriend to death escaped execution Thursday when Gov. Mike Easley commuted his death sentence to life in prison. Charlie Mason Alston Jr., 42, was to die by injection early Friday. Alston was sentenced in 1992 for the beating and suffocation death two years earlier of Pamela Renee Perry, who was hit in the face with a hammer. No one witnessed the killing and no blood or fingerprint evidence was ever linked to Alston, who had been convicted about six weeks earlier for assaulting Perry. Alston contended his innocence could have been proved by DNA tests on evidence that has since disappeared. Prosecutors said the evidence, scrapings from beneath Perry's fingernails, would confirm the guilty verdict. Easley did not specify why he commuted the sentence, saying only that after scrutinizing the case "the appropriate sentence ... is life in prison without parole." The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Alston's two remaining appeals Thursday afternoon.

On the night of January 9, 1989, Ivan Murphy and Douglas Stoff went to the home of Lula Mae Denning in Denison, Texas. Ms. Denning, an eighty-year-old lifetime friend of Murphy's, invited the two men into her home. Once inside, the two men robbed Ms. Denning of jewelry, including a wedding ring valued at $7,000, beat her to unconsciousness, and left her for dead. They returned several hours later to steal more jewelry that they could sell for more drugs. Murphy, who had a previous record for theft, was arrested 11 days later in Hugo, Okla. His fingerprints were found in the home. The accomplice, Stoff, was sentenced to life in prison.