Murder of David Weedman by Randal Coalter examined on Murder in the Heartland

Murder in the Heartland is investigating the murder of David Weedman, who was shot dead by his so-called friend, Randal Coalter, in Saint Croix, Indiana, in 2017.

Coalter was motivated by jealous rage after concluding that his friend was allegedly having an affair with his girlfriend.

On March 4, 2017, 62-year-old Weedman was found dead in his Saint Croix apartment; he had been shot, and the police initially suspected it was a self-inflicted wound. However, Weedman’s family disputed that he would commit suicide.

The family’s suspicions seemed to be confirmed when the police received a tip-off suggesting that the victim had been murdered. An autopsy then revealed that Weedman’s wound could not have been self-inflicted. The cops had initially thought the bullet had entered through his mouth, but the autopsy indicated that the back of the head had been the entry point.

Randal Coalter became suspect No.1 in David Weedman murder

The cops turned their focus onto Weedman’s friend, Randal Coalter, and the testimony of his girlfriend, Michelle Dukes. The investigators learned that Coalter had been the last person to see Weedman alive, and Dukes said her boyfriend had been in a rage at the time.

Why was Coalter angry? He believed that Dukes and Weedman were having an affair. The police concluded that the killer held Weedman down and shot him in the back of the head with a 10-inch barreled gun.

Dukes would later tell the police that Coalter had admitted to killing Weedman and that they would have to get their story straight, or he would go to jail. He allegedly told her: “I shot Dave in the face, and I’ll do the same to you if you don’t stick to your story.”

Five months after the murder, Coalter was found guilty of murder. He was subsequently sentenced to spend 60 years behind bars.

More from Murder in the Heartland

Follow the links to read about more murders committed in America’s heartland.

Jeffery Allen Brooks broke into the rural home of Diane Fortenberry, and when she came home unexpectedly, he beat her to death and fled the scene. Fortenberry’s unresponsive body was discovered when one of her sons returned home.

Casey Morgan had her throat slit by coworker Michael Roye at her home in Steeleville, Illinois, in 2007. There are unconfirmed rumors that the pair may have been having an affair.

Murder in the Heartland airs at 8/7c on Investigation Discovery.