In the late hours of a Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the life of 59-year-old Bruce Cofield, a Black man, was tragically cut short. On September 12, 2017, Cofield was at a bus stop on Florida Boulevard when he was fatally shot. He was discovered lying in the roadway, having sustained a gunshot wound. At the outset of the investigation, authorities had no immediate suspects or a clear motive for the shooting.
Cofield, who was experiencing homelessness at the time of his death, was remembered by those who knew him as a man with a 'good, big heart.'
The investigation into Cofield's death soon became linked to a string of violent acts that instilled fear in the Baton Rouge community. Just two days after Cofield's murder, another Black man, 49-year-old Donald Smart, was also shot and killed as he walked to his job. The day before Cofield's death, shots were fired into the home of a Black family in the area. These incidents led investigators to believe the attacks may have been racially motivated.
A significant breakthrough in the case came with the arrest of Kenneth Gleason, a 27-year-old white man. Evidence, including DNA found on shell casings and phone data placing him at the scenes of the crimes, connected him to the shootings. A search of Gleason's home uncovered a copy of a speech by Adolf Hitler, further suggesting a racial motive. He was charged with the first-degree murders of both Bruce Cofield and Donald Smart.
In April 2021, Kenneth Gleason's trial began. Prosecutors presented evidence of his internet search history in the days surrounding the murders, which included searches for 'best Nazi generals' and 'The Most Dangerous Game,' a short story about a man who hunts humans. The prosecution argued that Gleason had been 'hunting Black men.' The jury deliberated for just 30 minutes before finding him guilty of first-degree murder. In August 2021, Gleason was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The judge, during sentencing, remarked that the death penalty would have been an 'appropriate sentence' and that there was nothing the penal system could do to rehabilitate him. Shortly after his conviction and transfer to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Kenneth Gleason was found dead in his cell in September 2021, from an apparent suicide.
