Jeremiah McCray

Jeremiah McCray (1935 – April 18, 1958) was an American serial killer, rapist, and burglar who committed five murders across four states from 1956 to 1958, with most of his victims being elderly women whom he killed during robberies. Convicted and sentenced to death for his final murder in Virginia, McCray was executed a few weeks later.

Early life Little is known about McCray's life. Born in 1935 in Buchanan, Georgia, he was the son of Black sharecroppers and supposedly had as many as twenty brothers. McCray claimed that he studied in school for about three years, but never learned to read or write. Eventually, he dropped out altogether and started working as an itinerant farm laborer, but would occasionally turn to thefts and burglaries if he desperately needed money.

Murders In early 1956, McCray was working on a farm in Talladega, Alabama, when he was approached by an acquaintance who claimed that he knew a place from where they could steal some cash. Deciding to accompany him, the pair traveled to Anniston on February 27, where they broke into the home of 73-year-old Daisy F. Gilbert. Upon encountering her, the two men murdered her by beating her to death with sticks before stealing $80 and a pistol from the house and fleeing. Gilbert's body was later discovered by her daughter-in-law, Ezmi Clifford, who immediately notified the authorities. A few days later, Gilbert's adopted son Kenneth, who worked at a Standard Oil plantation in Venezuela, went back to Alabama to accompany his wife, who was considered the prime suspect in the case. Up until McCray's arrest, Ezmi was repeatedly called in for questioning by authorities and was regarded with suspicion by the locals, which greatly impacted her and her family's social life and led to friends and acquaintances severing ties with her.

After Gilbert's murder, McCray is not known to have committed any further violent crimes until July 1, 1957, when he and another acquaintance broke into a small home in Washington Court House, Ohio, where they killed 86-year-old Sarah DeWitt. Afterwards, the pair stole $250 and left.

Burglary arrest, release, and Virginia murders In July 1957, McCray broke into a home in Freedom Township, Pennsylvania, stealing several watches and a constable's badge, which he then attempted to sell on the street. To his surprise, the homeowner, Roscoe Shindledecker, managed to track him down and arrest him. Soon afterwards, McCray, who falsely listed his age as 28, was charged with one count of burglary and one count of larceny. He was convicted of both and sentenced to a year in prison, but was paroled in early January 1958. After he replied that her elderly brother had supposedly sent him to get something, Stevens said that she would go and check in with him, causing McCray to stab her in the neck with the knife, severing her spinal cord. As she was still alive, he proceeded to stomp on her before stabbing her several times in the head and body. After this, McCray left the house and hitched a ride to Richmond and then to Fredericksburg, where he was later arrested for loitering.

Trial, imprisonment, and execution While he was charged with murder in Virginia and Alabama, it was decided that McCray's first trial would take place in the former since he was already jailed there. The results showed that while he was of low intelligence, McCray could differentiate between right from wrong, and was thus ruled sane to stand trial. At a preliminary hearing, he pleaded guilty but later changed his plea to not guilty, which meant that he would be tried before a jury.

During the murder trial, the prosecution brought forward a dozen witnesses to testify about what had transpired on the day of Griffin's murder, including her own son and the family with which McCray lived. In addition, an overwhelming amount of evidence was presented against the defendant, ranging from the stolen clothing to his mysterious blood stains on McCray's shoes, shirt, and ear.

On April 10, 1958, McCray's plea for clemency was denied by Governor J. Lindsay Almond, setting his execution date for April 18. On the aforementioned date, he was executed at the Virginia State Penitentiary's electric chair. Two months later, Reager was convicted for rape for his role in the Griffin case and was sentenced to life imprisonment.