Convict confesses to cold case murders upon release from prison for separate crime – Law Officer

HEFLIN, Ala. – A convict in Florida completed a 15-year prison sentence last week and gained his freedom, only to be hauled back into custody when he confessed to a 2002 double homicide in Alabama involving the stabbing deaths of a pregnant woman and her 6-year-old son.

Lewis Ladon Spivey, 39, reportedly admitted to brutally stabbing and killing pregnant mother Monica Rollins, 23, and her son, Dalton Rollins, 6, in their Alabama home 21 years ago, the New York Post reported.

Monica was nearly full term in her pregnancy when she was slaughtered, Heflin Police Capt. Scott Bonner said at a Friday press conference. The mother and her son were butchered several days before their bodies were discovered in September 2002 in Heflin, Alabama, a small town 75 miles east of Birmingham.

It’s noteworthy that Rollins’ 3-year-old son was not murdered in the bloodbath, but had to survive alone in the house alongside his family’s mutilated bodies. He was found hiding unharmed in a closet by investigators.

Although police chased down leads, the case eventually went cold, according to Bonner.

Spivey just completed a 2010 prison sentence for robbery and aggravated assault. The self-confessed killer kept his role in the murders a secret until he was released on Tuesday from a prison in Florida. He would have been approximately 18-years-old when he committed the homicides in Alabama. 

“Spivey has since cooperated with the investigation and has given a complete confession wherein he outlined the timeline of the events that day and taken sole responsibility for both murders,” Bonner confirmed.

The captain described Spivey as an “acquaintance” to Rollins and said the two “had a relationship,” but did not disclose a motive or circumstances that led to the stabbing deaths.

Although Spivey was investigated in the immediate aftermath of the stabbings, detectives were unable to make a case against him, the Post reported.

“We didn’t have surveillance, pictures or cameras,” said Bonner. “We didn’t have the things that you would have nowadays.”

Following his confession and subsequent arrest, Spivey was transported to Alabama and was booked at the Cleburne County Jail where he is being held without bail.