A Serial Killer Couple’s Road Trip Through the USA

Cynthia Coffman and James Marlow viewed human lives as obstacles

A photo of Cynthia Coffman (18 March 1994). Edited by the author. By California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).

Investigators discovered bodies in Kentucky, California, and Arizona in 1986. They thought about the kind of individual could inflict such injuries on a fellow human. Love was likely the last subject on their mind. A poisonous relationship was the force behind a couple’s rampage, though. Their love turned into a shield for their consciences.

Silence in a lane

In July 1986, a man travelled along Upper Mulberry Cemetery Road, in Whitley County, Kentucky. Next to the quiet road, trees and green fields extended in all directions. He stopped his journey when he spotted a prone body.

Rose Cemetery in Whitley County, Kentucky. Edited by the author. By jlrose@bex.net from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

Once he drew near, he noticed a recognizable face: one of his relatives, Gregory “Wildman” Hill. A gunshot wound to the temple testified to how Hill, a man in his late 20s, met his end. His home in Dead Man’s Holler was less than a quarter mile away from the scene.

Nearby, the man picked up a handgun. He would later hand it over to the police after he realized its importance to the investigation…