Alex Deaton, a man convicted of murdering two women in Mississippi and instigating a nationwide manhunt in 2017, has been found deceased at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. Deaton, who was serving a life sentence, was responsible for the deaths of his girlfriend, Heather Robinson, in Rankin County, and Brenda Pinter in Neshoba County. Both murders occurred in February 2017, during a violent crime spree that eventually spanned multiple states.
Rankin County Coroner David Ruth confirmed that Deaton was found dead on Saturday, June 14. The cause of death has not yet been determined, and Deaton’s body has been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
The crime spree began with the strangulation of Robinson, after which Deaton stole her SUV and shot a jogger near her home. He then traveled to Neshoba County, where he fatally shot Pinter inside Dixon Baptist Church. The ensuing manhunt saw Deaton carjack a couple in New Mexico, shooting one of them, and later traveling to Kansas. In Kansas, he stole a vehicle from a store clerk at gunpoint before being captured following a high-speed chase near Pratt.
Authorities have yet to release further details regarding the circumstances surrounding Deaton’s death.
