Robert Glen Coe
Encyclopedia
Robert Glen Coe born in Hickman, Kentucky
, was convicted of the 1979 rape
and murder
of eight-year-old Cary Ann Medlin, and later executed for the crime.
. Robert Coe pulled up next to them and began to talk to them, acting as if he knew Cary's father and needed directions to his house. Cary got into Coe's car to help him, and she was never seen alive again. As soon as she was reported missing, friends and neighbors in the close-knit community began a massive search to locate Cary or the man whose car she was last seen in. The following day, her body was found at the end of a road on the outskirts of town. An autopsy
revealed that she had been sexually assaulted
.
Coe had a long history of drug abuse
, mental illness
, and indecent exposure
. Shortly after the crime he told family members that he had killed someone, but they initially did not believe him. After hearing about the murdered girl, some of Coe's family members started to help him evade capture by buying him a bus ticket to Georgia
, but another notified the police. Coe was captured at the bus station.
while the child watched. It is speculated that he also molested and rape
d her in his Ford Gran Torino or somewhere nearby. According to the same taped confession, he then became angry at her when she said to him repeatedly "Jesus
loves you" after witnessing his sexual act or possibly after his sexual assault. He then decided he was going to murder her. He went around to her side of the car and yanked her out of the car by her throat. He choked the eight year-old until she turned blue, but he could not strangle her. He then told her to walk down the road and while he walked behind her, he pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed her in the throat. She fell to the ground, grasping at her throat, but quickly bled to death.
by lethal injection
. He became the first person to be executed by the State of Tennessee
since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated. Tennessee's last execution before Coe was in 1960.
Hickman, Kentucky
Hickman is a city in Fulton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,560 at the 2000 census. Named for Captain Paschal Hickman, a Kentucky officer who was killed by Indians in the Massacre of the River Raisin during the War of 1812, it is the county seat of Fulton County.Hickman is...
, was convicted of the 1979 rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of eight-year-old Cary Ann Medlin, and later executed for the crime.
Kidnapping and Murder
On September 1, 1979, Cary Ann Medlin and her stepbrother were riding their bicycles in the neighborhood near their home in Greenfield, TennesseeGreenfield, Tennessee
Greenfield is a city in Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,208 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Greenfield is located at ....
. Robert Coe pulled up next to them and began to talk to them, acting as if he knew Cary's father and needed directions to his house. Cary got into Coe's car to help him, and she was never seen alive again. As soon as she was reported missing, friends and neighbors in the close-knit community began a massive search to locate Cary or the man whose car she was last seen in. The following day, her body was found at the end of a road on the outskirts of town. An autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
revealed that she had been sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
.
Coe had a long history of drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
, and indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
. Shortly after the crime he told family members that he had killed someone, but they initially did not believe him. After hearing about the murdered girl, some of Coe's family members started to help him evade capture by buying him a bus ticket to Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, but another notified the police. Coe was captured at the bus station.
Confession
Coe was arrested and confessed to the murder, giving a detailed description of the crime. Coe confessed that he drove Cary to an isolated spot on the outskirts of town and then, according to his confessional videotape, masturbatedMasturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
while the child watched. It is speculated that he also molested and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d her in his Ford Gran Torino or somewhere nearby. According to the same taped confession, he then became angry at her when she said to him repeatedly "Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
loves you" after witnessing his sexual act or possibly after his sexual assault. He then decided he was going to murder her. He went around to her side of the car and yanked her out of the car by her throat. He choked the eight year-old until she turned blue, but he could not strangle her. He then told her to walk down the road and while he walked behind her, he pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed her in the throat. She fell to the ground, grasping at her throat, but quickly bled to death.
Execution
On April 19, 2000, he was executed in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. He became the first person to be executed by the State of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated. Tennessee's last execution before Coe was in 1960.
See also
- List of individuals executed in Tennessee
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
Sources
- TN Executions. Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- Robert Glen Coe. Clark County Prosecutor. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- Lawrence Buser. Tennessee executes Coe. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.