On an autumn evening, the life of 36-year-old female Alabama State Trooper Elizabeth Cobb was tragically cut short. On October 11, 1987, she was found in her patrol car, parked behind a church on a county road in Dallas County, having been shot in the head. Cobb, a U.S. Air Force veteran, had been with the Alabama Department of Public Safety for a year and held the distinction of being the first female trooper in the state to be killed in the line of duty.
The investigation into her death quickly focused on a fellow state trooper, Joe Cecil Duncan, who was not only her colleague but also her fiancé and patrol supervisor. Authorities discovered that Duncan had taken out a significant life insurance policy on Cobb, naming himself as the beneficiary. The motive appeared to be financial, as he stood to gain a substantial sum from her death.
Joe Duncan was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in connection with the slaying of Trooper Cobb. His first trial resulted in a conviction and a death sentence. However, this conviction was later overturned on appeal. In a subsequent trial, Duncan pleaded guilty to murder and received a sentence of 25 years in prison.
After serving his sentence, Joe Cecil Duncan was released from prison in 2012. The case remains a somber chapter in the history of Alabama law enforcement, marking the loss of a dedicated public servant at the hands of someone she knew and trusted.
