Nathaniel Robert Code

Serial Killer

Nathaniel Robert Code Jr.: The Cedar Grove Killer

Early Life and Criminal History

Nathaniel Robert Code Jr. was born on March 12, 1956, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Known to acquaintances as "Junior," Code spent much of his childhood in the Cedar Grove area of the city and was raised in part by his great-aunt and his grandfather, William T. Code. The same neighborhood where he grew up would later become the setting for a series of exceptionally violent murders that investigators eventually connected to him. Code had a serious criminal record long before the murders began. In 1975, he was prosecuted after attacking a 20-year-old woman and ultimately pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated rape. He received a 15-year prison sentence but was released early for good behavior in January 1984. Within months of returning to Shreveport, the first homicide later strongly linked to him occurred.

The Murder of Deborah Ann Ford

During the early morning hours of August 31, 1984, 25-year-old Deborah Ann Ford was attacked inside her home at 315 East 74th Street in Shreveport's Cedar Grove neighborhood. Ford was a mother of two, but her daughters were spending the night with their grandmother and were not in the house when the intruder entered. The killer entered through a bathroom window after pulling away its screen. Ford apparently fought her attacker before she was overpowered. An electrical cord cut from a fan inside the house was used to bind her hands behind her back in a distinctive handcuff-like arrangement, and clothing was used to gag her. Ford was stabbed nine times in the chest before her throat was cut repeatedly. Investigators determined that she was still alive when the wounds to her throat were inflicted. She died from massive blood loss. The homicide initially went unsolved, but investigators recovered latent palm and thumb prints from the bathroom window and nearby surfaces. Those prints were eventually identified as Nathaniel Code's. The unusual bindings, the killer's control over the victim, and the use of materials taken from inside the victim's own home would later become important when investigators compared Ford's murder with subsequent killings. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Vivian Chaney Age: (34), Date of Death: 1985-07-19

Suspected Victims:

Debra Ann Ford Age: (25), Date of Death: 1984-08-31

William Code Age: (73), Date of Death: 1987-08-05

Joe Robinson Jr Age: (12), Date of Death: 1987-08-05

Eric Williams Age: (8), Date of Death: 1987-08-05

Wes Burks Age: (48), Date of Death: 1985-06-24

Monica Renae Barnum Age: (20), Date of Death: 1985-07-18

Johnny B. Jenkins Age: (54), Date of Death: 1986-02-21

Jake Mills Age: (60), Date of Death: 1986-12-12

Nathaniel Code - Wikipedia