On a late March morning in 1986, the quiet life of 76-year-old Fred Blackmon and his wife, Evelyn, was irrevocably shattered. Two men, William Glenn Boyd and Robert Milstead, forced their way into the couple's Anniston, Alabama, home, armed and intent on robbery. The intruders concocted a story that they had kidnapped Evelyn's daughter, a woman Boyd had previously dated, to coerce the couple into compliance.
Their sinister plot began to unfold as Boyd accompanied Fred to a local bank, where the elderly man was forced to withdraw $5,000.
After returning to the house, the terror escalated. Boyd and Milstead bound and gagged the helpless couple. They were then forced into Fred's own Cadillac Eldorado and driven to a secluded wooded area. There, in the quiet of the woods, both Fred and Evelyn were brutally beaten and shot, their lives tragically cut short. In an attempt to conceal their horrific crime, the two men returned later to dispose of the bodies. Fred's body was placed in the trunk of his car, which was then submerged in the Coosa River. Evelyn's body was callously put into a metal drum and also dumped into the river.
The investigation into the couple's disappearance quickly led police to William Glenn Boyd. His car was spotted illegally parked near the Blackmon's home on the morning of the abduction. On April 3, 1986, Boyd was arrested for kidnapping. His accomplice, Robert Milstead, was also taken into custody on the same day. During questioning, Milstead provided information that led investigators to the separate locations where the murders took place. The following day, Fred Blackmon's Cadillac was pulled from the Coosa River, with his body discovered in the trunk.
Both William Glenn Boyd and Robert Milstead faced charges for the heinous crimes. In his initial statement to the police, Boyd attempted to place all the blame for the murders on Milstead. However, conflicting testimonies and evidence presented at trial painted a grim picture of both men's involvement. Boyd was ultimately convicted of capital murder in 1987. Despite a jury recommendation for life without parole, the judge sentenced him to death. After spending over two decades on death row, William Glenn Boyd was executed by lethal injection.
