On a remote road in Jefferson, Alabama, the crisp autumn air of October 20, 1983, was shattered by an act of brutal violence that ended the life of 16-year-old Kathleen Bledsoe. A high school student, she was parked with her 17-year-old boyfriend, Charles Leonard, when they were ambushed by two men, 21-year-old David Duren and 17-year-old Richard Kinder.
Armed with a gun, Duren and Kinder forced the young couple into the trunk of their own car.
After driving for some time to a more secluded location, the assailants removed Bledsoe and Leonard from the trunk and tied them up. What began as a robbery for a mere $40 escalated into a horrifying ordeal. Duren then opened fire, shooting both teenagers. Kathleen Bledsoe died from her injuries at the scene. Her boyfriend, despite being shot multiple times, miraculously survived the attack.
The assailants fled, leaving the two teens for dead. However, the resilience of the surviving victim proved to be their undoing. Despite his severe injuries, he managed to free himself and get to a nearby house to call for help. His testimony was instrumental in the swift capture of both Duren and Kinder. Leonard was able to identify Duren as the shooter.
The subsequent legal proceedings brought a measure of justice for the heinous crime. Both David Duren and Richard Kinder were arrested, tried, and convicted for the robbery and murder of Kathleen Bledsoe. Due to his age at the time of the offense, Richard Kinder received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. David Duren, the man who pulled the trigger, was sentenced to death. After years on death row, David Ray Duren was executed by the state of Alabama on January 7, 2000, for his role in the murder of Kathleen Bledsoe. Before his execution, Duren wrote an account of his crimes and his subsequent religious conversion.
