A pregnant mother and her 6-year-old son were found murdered in their Sugar Hill Road home. In the quiet community of Heflin, Alabama, a horrific discovery shattered the peace on the morning of September 16, 2002. Inside their home on Sugar Hill Road, 6-year-old Dalton Rollins and his 23-year-old mother, Monica Rollins, were found brutally murdered. The young boy and his mother, who was 36 weeks pregnant, had been stabbed to death. The heinous nature of the crime was further compounded by the fact that the assault is believed to have induced early labor for Monica, resulting in the
death of her unborn third son. Miraculously, Monica's 2-year-old son was found physically unharmed, having hidden in a closet.
For nearly two decades, the double murder remained a painful cold case for the family and the small town. Investigators collected evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, and fibers from the scene, but no suspect was publicly named for years. The community held onto hope for a resolution, and law enforcement continued to pursue leads. The case was officially reopened nearly two years prior to an arrest, with investigators resubmitting evidence to both state and private forensic labs.
The long-awaited breakthrough came in June of 2023. Lewis Landon Spivey, then 39, was taken into custody for the murders of Monica and Dalton Rollins. Spivey, who was 18 at the time of the killings, was arrested upon his release from a Florida prison where he had been incarcerated for unrelated charges. Following his arrest, Spivey provided a comprehensive confession, taking sole responsibility for the murders that had haunted the community for over twenty years. He was subsequently charged with two counts of murder. Spivey and Monica Rollins were described as being acquaintances. Following a hearing, it was determined that Spivey would be held without the possibility of bond pending trial.
