Phillip Coleman

Phillip J. Coleman Jr. (April 24, 1919 – September 10, 1943) was an American spree killer and self-confessed serial killer who was convicted of a double murder in Lothrop, Montana committed on July 24, 1943, together with accomplice Louis Brown. On the day of his execution, he published a written confession admitting to 23 total murders across the United States and Canada, providing details for eight of them, including one for which he had been suspected previously but never charged.

Coleman remains the last African-American and final convict to be hanged in Montana, as well as the final execution in the state prior to Furman v. Georgia.

Early life Little is known about Coleman's personal life, with the only verifiable information coming from an interview with sheriffs after his arrest. According to Coleman, he was born on April 24, 1919, in St. Louis, Missouri, His mother remarried when he was still young, and due to the frequent arguments between her and his stepfather, he fled for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at age nine, where he was later picked up by juvenile authorities for stealing bread. Coleman's mother later picked him up and returned him to East St. Louis, but he continued to habitually run away until his mother was supposedly murdered and her body burned to ashes. He would later be arrested for burglaries and break-ins in the state, for which he served 14 months in the Monroe Correctional Complex and later six months at the Washington State Penitentiary, respectively. After his release, Coleman would accept various odd jobs as an itinerant laborer, travelling from state to state until he eventually ended up in Montana.

Lothrop murders On July 24, 1943, Coleman accepted to do some work for 48-year-old Carl W. Pearson, a section foreman for the Northern Pacific Railway who lived in Lothrop. There, he worked alongside 39-year-old Louis Brown, a mixed-race ex-con from Herington, Kansas, who had convictions for vandalism and grand larceny in Kalamazoo, Michigan and Fort Madison, Iowa. Upon exiting the premises in the evening, Coleman told Brown that he planned to rob Pearson, as he had seen that he had at least $200 in his house while working there. After he told Winsper that his father was "lying out in the yard", she went to the house to check on them, only to find that both had been murdered. She then called the police, who immediately issued an arrest warrant for Coleman and Brown, who were last seen at the household. On the following day, the Pearsons' car was found by highway patrolmen in Drummond, but there was no sign of Coleman.

Over the next three days, police across Montana, as well as in Fargo, North Dakota and Idaho Falls, Idaho, arrested multiple men who they thought might be Coleman, but released all of them when they provided solid alibis. On July 28, the real Coleman was found to be hiding at a freight train car in Drummond, was immediately arrested and brought back to Missoula to face charges. The latter, whose attitude was described as carefree and jovial, readily admitted that he had killed Mrs. Pearson and announced his intention to plead guilty to her murder as fast as possible. However, he claimed that he was not responsible for Mr. Pearson's murder, which was interpreted by authorities as a likely ploy to plead guilty at a later date and possibly receive a lesser sentence. At the same time, authorities announced that they were investigating the pair for additional crimes, including thefts and possibly an additional murder. While examining one of the bags, determined to be Coleman's, police found numerous advertisements for dice rolling and letters he had written to women from across the country. On July 31, Brown suddenly amended his statement, claiming that he had not seen Coleman murder Mrs. Pearson, but was sure that he had killed both after he had left the house and his clothes had been bloodied. When he was informed that charges would still be brought against him, in addition to being asked why he changed his statement, Brown stated that he was afraid he would be lynched in jail if he had been truthful. He continued to deny responsibility for Carl Pearson's murder, which he placed entirely on Brown. During the proceedings, the prosecutors presented witness testimony from several witnesses and a medical examiner, all of which substantiated the supposed robbery motive. Despite these actions, he wrote a letter to Governor Sam C. Ford to ask whether there was a possibility of his sentence being commuted, to which Ford later wrote back and said that he would review the case at a later date.

Brown's trial Before Coleman's trial would begin, Justice C. E. Comer granted a motion by the prosecution to name him as a co-defendant in the murder of Carl Pearson. This move was criticized by Coleman's attorneys, Howard Toole and Randolph Jacobs, who claimed that it was harmful to their client's constitutional rights. In the meantime, Coleman, who was reported to play solitaire in his spare time and occasionally tap dance, promised that he would give reporters "the real story" shortly before his scheduled execution date. In that same time interview, he alluded that he could have easily escaped if he had accepted a ride from some white friends in Glendive, and could have fled to Mississippi, where he believed it was too dangerous for authorities to capture black fugitives.

For Brown's trial, fifty jurors from the surrounding area were selected to preside over the trial. In the beginning of the trial, Brown's attorneys filed a motion to amend his not guilty plea, but this was denied by the judge two days later. After a week-long trial, Brown was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, whereupon he was taken to the Montana State Prison.

Change of plea A little more than a week after his trial ended, Coleman's attorney announced that he would file a motion to withdraw his client's guilty plea, claiming that Coleman would not have pleaded guilty if he had known the death penalty was on the table. This motion was denied by Justice Comer, who ruled that the initial approach was proper and did not valuate any of the convict's rights. A short time later, it was announced that two writers for True Detective had taken interest in the case, and intended to document the entire case. And in response to the recent ruling, Coleman told in an interview with a reporter from Missoulian that he held no hard feelings towards anybody associated with his case, and that he was fully aware and deserving of the sentence he had been handed down.

Execution, confessions and aftermath In order to carry out Coleman's hanging, special makeshift gallows were erected at the Missoula County Jail, where only a few would be allowed to attend to the hanging itself. In response to a reporter describing him as flippant and unremorseful the day prior to his hanging, Coleman wrote a letter to the Missoulian, saying that this was an untrue characteristic, and that he felt remorse for what he had done, publicly asking for forgiveness from both God and the citizens of Montana. On that same day, Ford's administration announced that they would not grant clemency to Coleman.

Coleman, who had previously refused religious counsel, had been baptized a Catholic in prison, and when brought before the gallows, he again expressed that he was sorry for what he had done and that he was ready to face judgment from God. He was hanged at the Missoula County Jail on September 10, 1943, at exactly 7:07 AM, making this one of the fastest capital punishment cases in the state's history, lasting 47 days from the murder itself to the date of his execution.

Following his execution, the Missoula Police Department revealed that Coleman had made a written confession claiming that he had killed 23 people over his life time, and that he was responsible for an assault in Walla Walla, Washington for which another man, Jack L. Williams, was currently serving a life sentence.

Date of murder Location Victim Notes 1933 East St. Louis, Illinois 'Devil' Moore Bludgeoned with a hammer Unknown East St. Louis, Illinois Three unidentified men Shot over the span of a single week, supposedly while he worked as a triggerman for a gang 1939 Stockton, California Mexican named 'Ventez' Choked to death and buried under a house Unknown Lackawanna, New York Unknown Stenographer's records were not compiled Unknown Canada Unidentified black male Killed by Coleman while he was with a circus May 1943 Seattle, Washington A white girl named "Tullie" Killed by unknown means, body weighed and dropped into the Puget Sound Unknown Seattle, Washington Unidentified man Coleman claimed it involved a "prominent colored man", but refused to disclose details July 3, 1943 Helena, Montana Andrew J. Walton, 81 Black acquaintance of Coleman who was hacked to death with a hatchet. In his confession, Coleman claims that he had staggered into his home during a drunken stupor and intended to rob him, but ultimately stole only 12 cents. He then hitched a ride from Livingston to Butte from a soldier who had supposedly stolen the vehicle, but he never saw the man again. Coleman was considered a suspect in the case beforehand, and since his confession was considered credible, the case was closed.

Before his execution, Coleman wrote a letter addressed to his son Lee in a dictionary, stating that he was going to be hanged for murder and that he was sorry. This dictionary is currently on exhibit at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula in Missoula, along with an assortment of other random artifacts reflecting on the city's history.