Alvin Neelley

Case record: Alvin Howard Neelley, Jr.

Other details

Alvin Howard Neelley, Jr. (1953-2005) was an American prisoner.

Alvin Neelley met his second wife Judith Ann Adams Neelley when he was 26 years old and she was 15. Alvin divorced his first wife shortly before eloping in 1980. He was born in Georgia in 1953, where he was a car thief during his teenage years.

Alvin Neelley was incarcerated at Bostick State Prison in Hardwick, Georgia at the time of his death in 2005. He died in prison in October 21, 2005.

The offence

Alvin Neelley and Judith Ann Neelley were convicted as a couple responsible for two torture murders. They each were convicted of the kidnappings and murders of Lisa Ann Millican and Janice Chatman.

Lisa Ann Millican Lisa Ann Millican was a 13-year-old girl from Cedartown, Georgia. Alvin and Judith Neelley abducted her from the Riverbend Mall in Rome, Georgia on September 25, 1982. She was taken to a Murfreesboro, Tennessee motel where the Neelleys held her captive. During her captivity, Lisa was molested by both Neelleys, and Judith injected her with Drano. On the 28th, Lisa was shot in the head by Judith and her body was thrown in the Little River Canyon in Fort Payne, Alabama. Judith even called police to report Lisa’s body.

Janice Chatman Janice Chatman and John Hancock were a young engaged couple from Rome, Georgia. On October 4, 1982, they were abducted by Judith Neelley. John Hancock was shot while Janice Chatman was abducted and brought back to the Neelleys’ motel room, where she was tortured and murdered. John Hancock did not die and was able to point to Alvin and Judith Neelley as his assailants.

Arrest

Judith Neelley was arrested on October 9, 1982, and Alvin was taken into custody a few days later.

Trial

Judith Neelley's trial began on March 7, 1983. Before her trial, she gave birth to a third child behind bars. After a six-week trial, Judith was convicted of the torture murder of Lisa Ann Millican.

To avoid the death penalty, Alvin Neelley pled guilty to murder and aggravated assault in Georgia. He was not tried for the Lisa Millican murder.

Jury recommendation and sentencing in Alabama Despite a jury’s recommendation to sentence Judith to life in prison, judge Randall Cole sentenced the 18-year-old mother of three to death in Alabama’s electric chair after her conviction. After a brief sentencing hearing on April 18, 1983, Judge Cole sentenced Judy to die in Alabama’s electric chair. She was eighteen years old. She was found guilty of murder and abduction.

Alvin’s guilty pleas in the Chatman/Hancock case Anxious to avoid another death sentence, Judith pled guilty to kidnapping in the Chatman/Hancock case and agreed to testify against Alvin. Alvin, afraid of Judy’s testimony, pled guilty to kidnapping with bodily harm and intent to murder. He was sentenced to two life terms.

Sentencing

Alvin Neelley was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 28, 1983.

Appeals

Judith will be eligible for parole in January 2014.

Judith appealed for a new trial, but it was denied in March 1987. In 1989, the United States Supreme Court affirmed her death sentence.

Outcome

Alvin Neelley was serving a life sentence at the Bostick State Prison in Hardwick, Georgia at the time of his death in 2005.

Aftermath

Alvin Neelley was incarcerated at Bostick State Prison from 1983 until his death in November 2005.