Do you know who murdered Carrole White?
In the winter of 2017, a string of brutal and calculated killings began to unfold in southwest Detroit, leaving a community on edge. The perpetrator, it would later be discovered, used his vehicle as a weapon, targeting vulnerable women in the dead of night. One of the women to fall victim to this predator was Carrole Ann White. At 59 years old, her life was cut short in a senseless act of violence that would eventually be part of a larger, chilling narrative of a serial killer's rampage.
On the frigid morning of December 13, 2017, at approximately 3:45 a.m., Carrole Ann White's body was discovered. She was found lying face-down in the snow, a desolate figure between the sidewalk and the street in a southwest Detroit neighborhood. The investigation into her death would reveal a disturbing pattern of violence. Detectives learned that a man was picking up female sex workers, engaging in sexual acts with them, and then brutally running them over with his vehicle to reclaim the money he had paid them. In some instances, the assailant would physically beat his victims before using his car to end their lives.
For years, the 'Hit and Run Killer,' as he came to be known, evaded capture, leaving investigators to piece together the gruesome puzzle he was creating. The break in the case finally came in April 2020, when Lawrence Paul Mills was arrested. Born in 1987, Mills, a father from Garden City who worked at a pizza parlor, presented a facade of normalcy to the outside world. Following his arrest, he confessed to the murders of two women, including Carrole Ann White. The other confirmed victim was a 34-year-old pregnant woman named Melinda Salazar, who was killed in a similar fashion in October 2017. Mills was also a suspect in at least two other hit-and-run incidents.
Despite his initial confession, Lawrence Paul Mills pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. However, the evidence was substantial, and on November 17, 2021, a jury found him guilty of two counts of second-degree murder and one count of assault causing a miscarriage, stillbirth, or death. For his heinous crimes, Mills was sentenced to 28 to 48 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated at the Macomb Correctional Facility, bringing a close to the terrifying chapter he wrote on the streets of Detroit.
