In the summer of 1943, a tragic event unfolded in the small community of Lothrop, Montana, forever altering the lives of the Pearson family. On the night of July 24th, Carl W. Pearson, a 48-year-old man, was brutally murdered in his own yard. The events of that fateful night began when two men, Phillip 'Slim' Coleman and Lewis Brown, who had recently been hired to work on the Northern Pacific Railroad, devised a plan to rob their boss, Carl Pearson.
Late that night, Coleman approached the Pearson home and woke Carl, fabricating a story that his co-worker, Brown, was ill and needed assistance. A concerned Carl Pearson grabbed a bottle of aspirin and followed Coleman outside. There, lying in wait, Brown struck Pearson on the head, leaving his body in the yard. The violence did not end there. Coleman then re-entered the house and stabbed Carl's wife, Roslyn, to death in her bed.
The couple's seven-year-old son was spared and was the one to discover the horrific scene the following day.
The investigation into the double homicide moved swiftly. Brown and Coleman were almost immediately identified as the prime suspects. Brown was apprehended the day after the murders, and Coleman was taken into custody the day after that. Lewis Brown was charged in connection with Carl's death and ultimately received a life sentence. Phillip Coleman was charged with Roslyn's murder, and for his crimes, he was sentenced to death. Less than two months after the murders, on September 10, 1943, Phillip 'Slim' Coleman was hanged in Missoula, marking the last judicial hanging to take place in Montana.
