Richard Lewis Hunter is a serial killer who targeted elderly women in his neighbourhood. In fact, all his victims lived within 2 miles of each other. This makes him a territorial serial killer.
Hunter worked as a furniture mover, among other jobs. This would come in handy for stealing property after raping and killing his victims. He was able to move heavy items by himself, making police think there were at least 2 people.
Hunter targeted women in his neighbourhood. They were all older than 60, African American, poor and socially isolated.
Annie Rochelle Copeland was 85 years old, and lived on her own in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the serial killer’s first victim. Hunter raped and smothered her, and stole both a TV and a .32 Smith & Wesson handgun. He sold TV for money to buy cocaine. Copeland was found by a visiting minister, covered in a blanket. Her nightgown was turned up, covering her face.
Less than a week after Copeland was murdered, Aretha Clements, 61, became a victim. Her son had been hoping to move his mother from the area, and had narrowed it down to 2 houses. Hunter got to her before son was able to find a house to move his mother into. Clements was sexually assaulted, strangled and wrapped in a sheet. Her TV and wallet were missing.
On March 11, 1986, less than a week after Clements, Dena Mae Mike is raped and strangled. Police now report there are “striking similarities” in the 3 murders. Mike, who was 62 and blind, lived alone. Her home is ransacked and her body was covered by items tossed by the killer. By the next day, police had brought the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in to help. A small task force was created to investigate.
Hunter, who had been selling and trading stolen property for drugs, lays low for almost a month before his next murder. Grace Hill, 65, is found on April 9 on her bedroom floor. She has been raped and strangled, just like the last 3 victims. Although there is no physical evidence linking the crimes, the murders are being treated as if they were. Hill, like the others, was covered up. In this case, it was newspapers and magazines. For some reason (although I am sure a drug-addicted serial killer doesn’t have one that makes sense), a doll had been placed between her legs.
Police thought the killer had an intense hatred of the elderly. It’s just as possible Hunter targeted older women because they were weak and alone. Hunter had been breaking into his victims’ homes through windows and doors. Older single women living in social housing in the area began to request transfers to high-rise buildings. The NAACP had begun installing dead bolt locks on the private homes of elderly women in the area. Coors, the beer company, and area companies, donated the money.
A tipster told police Hunter was responsible for Copeland. On April 20, 1986, less than 2 months after the murders began, police arrested Richard Lewis Hunter on a parole violation. Within a few weeks, he is charged with all four murders, as well as sexual assault and robbery.
On May 5, 1987, Richard Lewis Hunter enters a guilty plea to avoid the death sentence.
The Richard Lewis Hunter murders timeline
March 1, 1986
Annie Rochelle Copeland, 85, is found raped and asphyxiated in her Atlanta, Georgia home. Hunter stole her TV and a .32 Smith & Wesson handgun.
March 6, 1986
Aretha Clements is found in her apartment, sexually assaulted and strangled. Hunter stole her TV and traded it for cocaine.
March 11, 1986
Dena Mae Mike, 62, is raped and murdered in her home. She is found in the bedroom floor.
April 9, 1986
Grace Hill, 65, is found dead, raped and strangled, on the floor of her apartment. Police are treating them as victims of a serial killer and slowly building a profile.
April 16, 1986
An anonymous tipster tells police that Hunter killed Copeland.
May 9, 1986
Hunter is indicted for all 4 counts of murder, 4 counts of rape and 4 counts of burglary.
