Walter Hill: A Violent Criminal Career Spanning Twenty-Five Years
Walter Hill was an American serial killer whose known murders occurred between 1952 and 1977. Born on February 7, 1935, in Midway, Alabama, Hill spent much of his adult life in state and federal prisons. He was convicted of killing five people: one man during his teenage years, a fellow prisoner while serving a federal sentence, and three members of an Alabama family in 1977. The exact death dates of two victims are not available in surviving public records, so only verified years are given for those cases.
The Murder of Sam Atmore
Hill committed his first known murder in 1952, when he was approximately seventeen years old. In Adamsville, Alabama, he attacked a man named Sam Atmore and beat him to death with a wooden board. The precise day of Atmore's death is not clearly established in accessible records, but the killing and Hill's prosecution occurred in 1952.
Hill pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a ten-year prison sentence. He was sent to the Atmore State Prison Farm. Before his transfer was completed, he escaped from custody, although authorities quickly recaptured him. In 1954, Hill participated in another escape when approximately twenty prisoners cut through a fence during a prison baseball game. Hill and most of the other escapees were captured within a day.
Kidnapping and a Second Killing
After his release from state prison, Hill continued committing serious crimes. In 1962, he and another man abducted Arthur Phillips at gunpoint. They forced Phillips into a vehicle, transported him across state lines into Alabama, and eventually ordered him out before taking the vehicle. Phillips survived the incident.
Hill was convicted in federal court of kidnapping and transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines. He received a twenty-five-year sentence and was imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia.
While serving that sentence, Hill fatally stabbed another prisoner. Publicly accessible court accounts identify the victim only as a fellow inmate and do not provide his name or an exact date of death. Hill was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the killing and received an additional five years of imprisonment. He was eventually paroled in 1975.
The Hammock and Tatum Family Murders
Less than two years after his parole, Hill committed the crime that resulted in his death sentence. On January 7, 1977, he was inside a family residence in the Birmingham and Bessemer area of Jefferson County, Alabama. The home was occupied by sixty-year-old Willie Mae Hammock, her daughter Lois Jean Tatum, Lois's husband John Tatum Jr., and younger members of the household.
Hill had developed an inappropriate relationship with Willie Mae Hammock's thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, Toni. He reportedly asked Willie Mae for permission to marry the child. When Willie Mae refused, Hill followed her into a bedroom and shot her. He then entered another part of the house and shot John Tatum Jr. twice. Lois Jean Tatum attempted to escape through the house, but Hill pursued and shot her as well. The three adults suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the backs of their heads.
Toni witnessed at least part of the attack. After the shootings, Hill told her to collect clothing and leave with him. Hill then located sixteen-year-old Robert, another member of the household, and forced him to drive Hill and Toni toward Georgia. When the vehicle broke down near Villa Rica, Georgia, Robert escaped. He returned to Alabama and discovered the bodies.
Hill and Toni later encountered motorist Lewis Nunnery in Decatur, Georgia. Nunnery initially offered assistance, but Hill threatened to kill him and forced him to drive through several states. The journey continued through South Carolina and Tennessee before the vehicle broke down in North Carolina. When Hill fell asleep, Nunnery escaped and contacted law enforcement officers.
Police arrested Hill soon afterward. Officers found a pistol in his possession that was connected to the Alabama murders. Toni, Robert, and Nunnery later became important witnesses in the prosecution.
Known Victims
- Sam Atmore — Killed in 1952 in Adamsville, Jefferson County, Alabama. Hill beat Atmore to death with a wooden board. An exact death date is not available in accessible records.
- Unidentified fellow inmate — Killed during the 1960s at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. Hill fatally stabbed the prisoner while serving a federal kidnapping sentence. The victim's name and exact death date are not identified in accessible court summaries.
- Willie Mae Hammock, age 60 — Died January 7, 1977, at her residence in Jefferson County, Alabama. Hill shot her after she refused to permit him to marry her thirteen-year-old stepdaughter.
- John Tatum Jr., age 36 — Died January 7, 1977, at the Hammock and Tatum family residence in Jefferson County, Alabama. Hill shot him twice during the attack.
- Lois Jean Tatum, age 34 — Died January 7, 1977, at the family residence in Jefferson County, Alabama. Hill chased and shot her as she attempted to escape.
Trials and Death Sentence
Hill was charged with capital murder because he had killed multiple people during a single course of conduct. In October 1977, a jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to death. That conviction was later overturned because of procedural errors, leading to a second trial.
In August 1979, Hill was again convicted of capital murder. During the retrial, he denied being present when the family was killed and attempted to suggest that Toni, Robert, or another person might have committed the shootings. The jury rejected his account. Hill was sentenced to death again in September 1979.
A technical problem arose because the judge died before completing the formal written sentencing order. A new sentencing hearing was therefore conducted, and in February 1980 Hill received a third death sentence. Numerous state and federal appeals followed, keeping the case in the courts for nearly two decades.
Execution
Walter Hill was executed in Alabama's electric chair at Holman Correctional Facility on May 2, 1997. He was sixty-two years old and had spent approximately twenty years on death row. His final meal included fried chicken and sweet potatoes. Hill made no formal last statement, although he reportedly acknowledged one of his nieces shortly before the execution.
Hill's criminal history covered most of his life. His first known killing occurred when he was a teenager, and further imprisonment did not end his violence. His record included murder, escape attempts, kidnapping, vehicle theft, the killing of another prisoner, the triple murder of the Hammock and Tatum family, and the forced transportation of survivors and witnesses across several states.
