Roger Keith Coleman - The Case

The Case

Coleman was convicted of raping and murdering McCoy in 1982.

The prosecution for the case, led by Commonwealth Attorney Michael McGlothlin, asserted:

  • The lack of forced entry showed McCoy knew her attacker
  • Coleman had been previously convicted of attempted rape
  • A hair found on McCoy's body was similar to Coleman's
  • Blood found on Coleman's clothes was McCoy's blood type
  • A fellow prisoner maintained that Coleman had privately confessed the crime to him

Coleman's defense maintained:

  • There was indeed evidence of forced entry (the pry mark on the door)
  • DNA tests of the semen found on the victim's body implicated more than one person
  • The prosecution claimed there was no struggle, but the victim had cuts, a bruise in her arm, and broken fingernails
  • Coleman had a documented alibi and several witnesses who gave affidavits

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