Downtown Posse Murders Leave Lasting Impression on Dayton — Merry Kill-Mas
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“The fact that it was truly stranger on stranger crime, which is the most difficult to solve . . . there was not even a motive,” Dayton Homicide Detective Doyle Burke.
Christmas 1992, Dayton, Ohio, was home to a bloody killing spree that claimed six lives and left two others injured.
Dayton Police Sgt George Hammann, who worked the case, “They were like a shark, once they tasted blood, they couldn’t stop.”
Timeline in the Christmas Killings
Thursday, December 24, 1992 — First Three Attacks
Laura Taylor pumped the group up before their spree started with, “Let’s get some drama in our lives.”
1 | Joseph Wilkerson — shot to death while tied to his bed inside his home at 3321 Prescott Avenue. His body wouldn’t be discovered until Saturday, December 26.
Laura came up with the idea to offer Joseph Wilkerson an orgy in exchange for money. She asked Heather Matthews to join her.
Once in, they tied him to a bed with electrical cords. Then Marvallous used a .32 caliber, Derringer, to shoot their victim after Laura shot him a second time in the head with a .25 caliber gun.
Then they made themselves at home. They partied in his house, ate his food, even driving his car to commit other crimes. And the whole time he was lying dead in the bedroom.
2 | Danita Gullette — she was shot multiple times while using a payphone at 517 Neal Avenue.
This time they didn’t need a ruse to get their victim. They just shot her from the street five times. Then as she lay bleeding out, they stole her shoes, jacket, and backpack.
Later the group would admit that they saw her Fila tennis shoes and wanted them. That’s why they decided to shoot her.
When police arrived, they found the area around the victim covered in blood and .25 caliber Blazer aluminum bullet shell casings.
3 | Jeffrey Wright — shot four times while standing outside of 157 Yuma Place. He is the first victim to survive.
This victim had a personal connection to the group. He was the ex-boyfriend of Heather Matthews.
It was Demarcus Smith who pulled the trigger four times, hitting Jeffrey Wright in the legs. He was able to escape to a neighbor’s house and get help.
Friday, December 25, 1992 — Fourth Attack
4 | Richard Maddox — while driving his car on Benton Avenue, he is shot once in the head. As a result, his car crashed; he had died instantly from the gunshot.
This victim was Laura’s ex-boyfriend. She had lured him from his parent’s house. She got in the car with him, while the rest of the group followed behind them, unbeknown to Richard at first.
When Richard spotted the car, he got nervous and tried to make a getaway. Laura Taylor pulled out the Derringer and put it against his right temple and fired. Then as the car was about the crash, she jumped out.
Saturday, December 26, 1992 — Fifth and Sixth Attacks
5 | Sarah Abraham and Jones Pettus — Sarah was working at the family-owned Short-Stop Mini Market, 1201 W Fifth Street, when the killers entered. They shot her in the face and Jones a customer. Sarah died five days later, and Jones survived.
Again Laura Taylor seemed to be leading the group in picking their victims. She entered the Short-Stop Mini Market and cased the place after Demarcus and Marvallous came in.
Marvallous would shoot Sarah Abraham twice in the face. The casings would match the other scenes. The customer received a shot to the hand and gut.
6 | Salem Avenue Carjacking — a woman was airing up her tires when the group approached her with guns drawn. She ran, and that is probably the only reason she’s alive. They stole her black Dodge Shadow.
Connecting the Cases
“Really, the first thing that made the connection for us was the ammunition,” Dayton Homicide Detective Doyle Burke worked the case in 1992. “Then, you start to worry, and you figure out that we’ve got a person or persons that are probably not going to stop.”
Arrest | Dayton police notice a black Dodge Shadow that matches the description of a stolen vehicle. Four people are in the car, along with several weapons.
“They all cooperated and put their hands up. I was later to find out from detectives that Laura Taylor told Marvallous Keene to shoot me, and he wouldn’t,” Dayton Police Sgt John Huber said about making the traffic stop and catching the four suspects.
After they were arrested, a minister came to visit with Laura Taylor when he heard she was only 16 years old. That’s when she gave him information about where to find two more victims.
7 | Wendy Cottrill and Marvin Washington — their bodies were at the city-owned gravel dump located at 1654 Richley Drive. These two were members of the posse that the ringleaders killed because they thought these two knew too much and would snitch.
They told the two soon to be victims that they all just wanted to party to get them in the car. A short while later, Marvallous pulled the car over into the gravel pit and ordered Wendy and Marvin to get out. He and Demarcus shot the two.
Dayton homicide detective Doyle Burke worked the case, “They were just killing people randomly for nothing, literally nothing.”
The Downtown Posse Killers
They were known around the Courthouse Square area because the group was regular fixtures bumming money from people passing by.
1 | Heather Nicole Matthews 20
Is serving a life sentence in Marysville at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
“I wanted to be like them. I wanted to do what they was doing,” Heather Matthews said later in an interview.
2 | DeMarcus Maurice Smith 19 (dating Heather)
Serving a life sentence at the Mansfield Correctional Institute.
3 | Marvallous Keene 19
Executed on July 21, 2009, by lethal injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.
At the time of his execution, they asked if he had any last words, he said no.
4 | Laura Taylor 16 (dating Marvallous)
Currently serving a life sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.
Conclusion
These were crimes committed for the sake of killing. If they had not been caught when they were, there is little doubt that they would have killed more victims.
