In the spring of 1986, a chilling series of events unfolded in Atlanta, Georgia, forever marking the life of a 61-year-old woman named Aretha Clements. A resident of northwest Atlanta, Ms. Clements lived a quiet life, rarely venturing far from her home except for visits to her best friend or for medical appointments. Her son, Felton Clements, was actively seeking a new home for her, hoping to move her from the area, but his efforts were tragically cut short.
On March 6, 1986, Felton went
to check on his mother and discovered a scene of horror. Aretha Clements had been brutally murdered in her own apartment, her home ransacked. An investigation revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and manually strangled. The perpetrator had wrapped her body in a bedspread, her nightgown disarranged, and had stolen her 25-inch color television set and her pocketbook. There were no immediate suspects, leaving her family and the community in a state of shock and fear.
Aretha Clements was one of four elderly African American women targeted by a serial killer who preyed on the vulnerable in their own homes. The other victims were Annie Rochelle Copeland, Dena Mae Mike, and Grace Hill, all murdered within a two-month period. A small task force was created to investigate the string of remarkably similar crimes that had instilled a deep sense of unease throughout the city.
The breakthrough in the case came in April 1986 with the arrest of Richard Louis Hunter, a 31-year-old day laborer with a criminal history. Investigations and evidence linked Hunter to the murders. He had been selling and trading stolen property, including a television belonging to one of the victims, for drugs. In May 1987, Richard Louis Hunter pleaded guilty to the four rape-murders, including that of Aretha Clements. He received eight consecutive life sentences, ensuring he would spend the remainder of his life in prison for the terror he had inflicted.
