English: Seniors who kill:

Serial killers share similar backgrounds and often begin their killing spree when they are young adults. It is believed that serial killers are usually in a specific age range and between the ages of 25 to right around 50 with 55 being the maximum age for a serial killer to be. However, this theory, is based upon mostly historical data, but does not take into account other types of serial killers, such as, spree killers and hit men from organized crime or even rulers of state. I beg to differ, in this article I aim to shatter this myth concerning the ages one must attain to be classified as a serial killer.

In the case of Ray and Faye Copeland, their lust for killing came with their retirement years. Why this couple, both in their 70s went from being loving grandparents to serial killers, who used the clothing of their victims to make a warm winter quilt to snuggle under, is both morbid and perplexing.

Therefore, without further ado here is their story.

In October 1989, Missouri police received a tip that a human skull and bones could be found on farmland owned by an elderly couple, Ray and Faye Copeland. Ray Copeland's last known stint with the law involved a livestock swindle, so as police questioned Ray inside his farmhouse about the scam, authorities searched the property. It did not take them long to find five decomposing bodies buried in shallow graves around the farm.

The autopsy report determined that each man had been shot in the back of the head at close range. A register with names of the transient farmhands who had worked for the Copeland’s helped police identify the bodies. Twelve of the names, including the five victims found, had crude 'X' in Faye's handwriting, and marked by the name.

Authorities found a .22-calibre Marlin bolt-action rifle inside the Copeland home, which ballistics tests proved to be the same weapon as the one used in the murders. The most disturbing piece of evidence, besides the scattered bones and rifle, was a handmade quilt Faye Copeland made out of the dead victim's clothing. The Copeland's were quickly charged with five murders, identified as Paul Jason Cowart, John W Freeman, Jimmie Dale Harvey, Wayne Warner and Dennis Murphy.

Faye Insisted Knowing Nothing About Murders:  Faye Copeland claimed to know nothing about the murders and stuck to her story even after being offered a deal to change her murder charges to conspiracy to commit murder in exchange for information about the remaining seven missing men listed in her register. Although a conspiracy charge would have meant her spending less than a year in prison, compared to the possibility of receiving the death sentence, Faye continued to insist she knew nothing about the murders.

Ray first tried to plead insanity, but eventually gave up and tried to work out a plea agreement with authorities. The authorities were not willing to go along and the first-degree murder charges remained intact.

The Courts Verdicts, Guilty:  During Faye Copeland's trial, her attorney tried to prove that Faye was another one of Ray's victims and that she suffered from Battered Women Syndrome. There was little doubt that Faye had indeed been a battered wife, but that not was enough for the jury to excuse her cold murderous actions. Faye Copeland was guilty of murder and was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Soon after, Ray was also sentenced to death.

The Oldest Couple Sentenced to Death:  The Copeland's made their mark in history for being the oldest couple to be sentenced to death; however, they were not executed. Ray died in 1993 on Death Row. Faye's sentence was commuted to life in prison. In 2002, Faye was released from prison because of her declining health and she died in a nursing home on December 2003, at age 83.

Just out of curiosity, these are not the only case where people in their 70’s started a life of criminal activity, this article just illustrated but one very short facet on the historical record, there are literally dozens, on dozens, of serial killers who started their killing spree while in their mid 60’s and even a case where a Grandfather and a Grandmother, along with their 5 children, and 3 grandchildren started their killing spree where the grandparents were in their mid-to-late-80’s, and remained uncaught or otherwise apprehended for more than 40 years, long after the grandparents had passed, and the parents have passed, with the grandchildren taking up the killing of others for…  It had been suggested that this family preyed upon society for purposes of food, as well as other material gain, I will cover this family later on.  I just want to point out, that anyone, regardless of age, can attain an appetite for death.

- Bird
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