This week on Deadly Women, the show is investigating the murderous crimes of Sonia Weidenfelder, Denise Gay, and Mary Rice. The three murderers all have something in common: they conspired with another individual to commit terrible crimes.
Sonia Weidenfelder and her partner, Rick Spaulding, brutally gunned down Debra Morgan because of a custody dispute in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Denise Gay and her daughter Latoya Gay suffocated her boyfriend’s son, 19-year-old Martre Coles, in their home in Henrico, Virginia. And Mary Rice and William Boyette murdered four women during a violent eight-day spree along the Gulf Coast.
Murder of Debra Morgan by Sonia Weidenfelder
On November 7, 2016, Debra Morgan’s 11-year-old son found her dead in their home in Broken Arrow, OK. She had been blasted in the face with a shotgun from a mere foot away.
Her killers were Sonia Weidenfelder and her boyfriend, Rick Spaulding, and she had been murdered because of a custody battle between her and Rick over her aforementioned son. The cops learned that a court had recently granted Morgan full custody of the child and that Spaulding had been ordered to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Witnesses also told the police that Spaulding had previously threatened Morgan and said he would tamper with her brakes. A coworker of Morgan’s told the police she’d said: “If I end up dead, go find Rick [Spaulding].”
When the police examined cellphone texts between Weidenfelder and Spaulding, they learned that Weidenfelder appeared to have embraced the idea of killing Morgan. Investigators also discovered that Weidenfelder had searched online for the best way to kill Morgan.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelBoth Morgan and Spaulding were convicted of first-degree murder and were sent to prison for life.
Murder of Martre Coles by Denise Gay
Martre Coles from Henrico, Virginia, had been missing for days before the 19-year-old’s body was discovered in a plastic bin in a wooded area. The killer was his father’s girlfriend, Denise Gay, and her daughter Latoya Gay.
Denise’s younger 12-year-old daughter later explained to the police that she had seen her mom and sister attack Martre in his bedroom and suffocate him. She said she heard him yelling, “get off me.”
After the police found the body, they intercepted text messages between Denise and Latoya discussing how they should properly bury the body. The cops set up a camera where Martre’s remains had been left, and they caught Denise arriving with a shovel.
Denise’s defense argued that she might have been covering up for her younger daughter, who might have been the killer. The 12-year-old had admitted to previously stabbing Martre with scissors, pouring bleach under his bedroom door, and throwing knives at him.
Denise Gay was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The murderous spree of Mary Rice and William Boyette
Mary Rice and William Boyette went on a one-week violent crime spree in February 2017, when they committed a series of robberies and murders in multiple states along the Gulf Coast.
They began their killing at a motel in Milton, Florida, when they shot dead two women, Alicia Greer and Jacqueline Moore. Several days later, they murdered Peggy Broz of Lillian, Alabama, as they tried to steal her car. And three days later, they shot Kayla Crocker in Beulah, Florida, and stole her car.
The cops finally brought their rampage to an end when they surrounded their motel room in Georgia. Rice surrendered to the police, but Boyette preferred to shoot himself in the head.
Rice tried to claim that Boyette had forced her into committing the crimes, but the cops were able to prove that she had been a willing participant in this modern-day Bonnie and Clyde duo.
Rice had provided her boyfriend with ammunition, maps, camping gear, had refueled vehicles, and had generally helped Boyette to evade capture.
Despite the police concluding that Rice hadn’t fired the bullets that killed those women, the authorities deemed she had been involved enough in their deaths to warrant a conviction for first-degree murder. She is currently serving a life sentence.
More from Deadly Women
Follow the links to read about more murderers examined on Deadly Women.
Previously the show examined Ciera Harp, Linda Ricchio, and Loretta Burroughs, all of whom tried to get away with the murder of their boyfriend or husband.
Simona Zafirovska murdered her own mother, Radica Zafirovska, with a piece of decking as she slept in her bed. The killer then tried to blame the horrific crime on imaginary intruders.
Deadly Women airs at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.