In the quiet, rural community of Alpine in Talladega County, Alabama, the night of June 2nd bled into the early morning of June 3rd, 1982, with a brutal act of violence that would leave a lasting scar on the community. Thurman Macon Donahoo Sr., a 72-year-old Caucasian male, was inside his home, unaware of the horrific fate that was about to befall him.
Three men, driven by the belief that Donahoo possessed a valuable five-carat diamond ring, had conspired to burglarize his house and were prepared to kill him to get it.
The perpetrators were identified as Billy Wayne Waldrop, William Eugene Singleton, and Henry Leslie Mayes. This was not Waldrop's first encounter with the law; he had a prior history of violence, having previously served time for two other murders. The trio forced their way into Donahoo's residence, where they violently attacked the elderly man, beating and fatally shooting him in the head. After murdering Donahoo, they ransacked his home, stealing the coveted diamond ring along with other valuables. In an attempt to cover their tracks and destroy any evidence of their heinous crime, they set fire to the 100-year-old house before fleeing the scene. When investigators arrived, they discovered Donahoo's badly burned body under an overturned refrigerator.
The investigation quickly led authorities to focus on Billy Wayne Waldrop. In July 1982, he was arrested in California for a DUI and was subsequently extradited back to Alabama. While incarcerated in the Talladega County Jail, Waldrop confessed to his role in the robbery and murder of Thurman Donahoo. In December 1982, he was indicted on six counts of capital murder.
The legal process moved forward for the accused. Henry Leslie Mayes died before he could stand trial for his involvement in the crime. William Eugene Singleton was convicted on lesser charges for his role in the deadly home invasion. Billy Wayne Waldrop's trial for the capital murder of Thurman Donahoo began in February 1983, and on February 18, 1983, a jury found him guilty. Following the jury's recommendation for the death penalty, the court sentenced Waldrop to death on March 22, 1983. After years of appeals, Billy Wayne Waldrop was executed by the electric chair on January 10, 1997, for the brutal murder of Thurman Macon Donahoo Sr.
