A Mississippi inmate who was apprehended amid a nationwide manhunt after murdering two people in 2017 was discovered dead at the jail where he was serving two life terms for the crimes.
Alex Deaton was discovered dead Saturday, June 14, at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF). Rankin County Coroner David Ruth confirmed Deaton’s death and said his body had been taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
Deaton was serving a life sentence for the deaths of his girlfriend, Heather Robinson, in Rankin County, and Brenda Pinter in Neshoba County. He pleaded guilty on both counts.
According to investigators, the run of crimes began in February 2017, when Deaton strangled Robinson, stole her SUV, and then shot and wounded a jogger near her home. He then went to Neshoba County and killed Pinter; her body was eventually recovered inside Dixon Baptist Church.
After the murders, Deaton fled to other states to avoid prosecution. This includes carjacking a couple in New Mexico, where he shot one person. He then traveled to Kansas and stole a store clerk’s car at gunpoint. Deaton’s flight ended when he was arrested during a chase near Pratt, Kansas.