THE COPELAND KILLINGS

Paperback. The bizarre account of Ray and Faye Copeland, the oldest couple ever sentenced to death in America. Ray Copeland offered destitute men a chance to escape rural homeless shelters and reclaim their dignity. If they agreed to stay sober, he would give each one a warm bed, 3 square meals, and training in how to buy and sell livestock at auctions near his Mooresville, Missouri farm. These drifters entrusted the gruff old farmer with their future and instead became the victims of his murderous greed. The author recounts the chilling crime story of 5 murders from 1986 to 1989. Copeland, with the help of Faye his wife of nearly 50yrs, hired these impoverished men as part of a scheme to defraud his fellow farmers of their livestock, with bad cheques. Then, to avoid discovery, Copeland systematically shot each farmhand in the head and buried the body. Faye kept a careful list, marking a crude "X" next to each victim's name. But when Jack McCormick, the last one hired, got wind of the scheme, he escaped and informed the authorities. The investigation that followed rocked the quiet farm community and exposed the Copelands as cold, calculating, mean-spirited killers who had more regard for money than for human life. Convicted separately on 5 counts of first-degree murder and ordered to be executed by lethal injection, Ray Copeland, 76, and Faye Copeland, 69 were the oldest couple ever to be sentenced to death in American history. Illus. 304pp. mass market p/back. From the library of true-crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Lightly browned pp. o/w Nr. F. with no creasing to covers.