Soon after meeting Judith, Alvin left his wife and three children; he eloped with her in the summer of 1980 and she became Judith Ann Neelley–a teen bride to a much older man.
The governor's decision caused controversy and outrage–many believed that Judith Ann Neelley deserved the death penalty or at least life imprisonment without parole for her heinous actions. Despite this, Judith has never been approved for parole, being denied as recently as 2018.
On October 9, 1982, Judith Neelley was arrested. Alvin was apprehended a few days later. Though both were sent to prison, Judith Neelley was presented as the mastermind behind the killings. Alvin avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to murder and aggravated assault.
After three days, Judith Ann Neelley used a syringe to inject Millican with liquid drain cleaner while the victim was handcuffed to a tree at Little River Canyon, and when that didn’t kill her, Neelley shot and threw the victim’s body into the gorge, reports TV station WRBL. • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?
Kenneth Kines, the lead detective in the case, followed the Neelleys for three weeks before apprehending them in Murfreesboro, Tennessee .
On January 15, 1999, Judith was days from her execution date when Governor Fob James commuted her sentence to life in prison with a possibility of parole in another 15 years (thus, a minimum of 31 years in prison).
Alvin was serving a life sentence at the Bostick State Prison in Hardwick, Georgia at the time of his death in 2005.
Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women, Wetumpka, Alabama. Alvin Howard Neelley, J r. (July 15, 1953 – October 21, 2005) and Judith Ann Adams Neelley (born June 7, 1964) are an American Married couple who committed the kidnappings and torture murders of Lisa Ann Millican and Janice Kay Chatman; they also attempted a third abduction.
Her father, an alcoholic, died in a motorcycle accident when she was nine. After meeting Neelley, she began her life of crime, committing armed robberies across the country (even when heavily pregnant) for which she was later caught. She gave birth to twins while incarcerated at Rome, Georgia 's Youth Development Center.
Alvin Neelley. Alvin Howard Neelley, Jr., was born in 1953 in Georgia, where he was a car thief during his teenage years. He met his second wife, Judith Ann Adams, when he was 26 years old and she was 15. Alvin divorced his first wife shortly before eloping with Judith in 1980.
When the painful poisoning failed to kill her, Lisa was shot in the back execution-style by Judith. Her body was thrown over a cliff in the Little River Canyon in Fort Payne, Alabama. Judith later called various police agencies several times to report the location of Lisa's body, where it was found on the canyon floor draped over a fallen tree.
Judith Ann Neelley navigates cameras and reporters while exiting the DeKalb County Courthouse in Fort Payne Monday, March 7, 1983, at the start of her murder trial. She is accompanied by her attorney, Bob French.
Defendant Judith Ann Neelley, 18, seemed relaxed Monday, March 18, 1983, during the jury selection phase of her capital murder trial. She was to remain in the custody of the DeKalb County Jail throughout the trial.
Judith Ann Neelley is shown being escorted from her jail cell to a courtroom Tuesday morning, March 8, 1983, by co-defense attorney Steve Bussman and Eddie Brown, who does investigative work for Bob French's law firm.
To support the contention that Judith Ann Neelley was not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, the defense team intended to prove the defendant was severely beaten and brainwashed by her husband, Alvin Neelley. He allegedly ordered her to shoot Lisa Ann Millican in the back in 1982.
Co-defense counsel Steve Bussman and Bob French flank Judith Ann Neelley on Friday, March 11, 1983, in Fort Payne.
Britt Miller, attorney for Alvin Neelley, attended Judith Ann Neelley's trial in Fort Payne and made a statement Tuesday, March 15, 1983, saying some testimony was untrue.
From left, 9th Judicial Circuit investigator Danny Smith, Deputy District Attorney Mike O'Dell and District Attorney Richard Igou head up the prosecution in the case against Judith Ann Neelley.
Testifying against Neeley was relatives of her victims, Lisa Ann Millican and Janice Chatman.
The brutal killing of a thirteen-year-old girl, thirty-five years ago resulted in a murder conviction for Judith Ann Neely. Neely was originally sentenced to die for the 1982 brutal slaying of Lisa Ann Millican in DeKalb County. Neely is now set for a possible shot at freedom next month.
Neelley was originally sentenced to die for the 1982 brutal slaying of Lisa Ann Millican in DeKalb County, Alabama. That sentence was commuted to life in prison by then Alabama Governor Fob James.
According to Barry Ragsdale, lawyer for Convicted killer Judith Ann Neelley,53, she has waived her parole hearing and as a result will stay in prison.
AL.com reported April 30 that Neelley wanted to waive the hearing. Neeley wrote in a letter obtained exclusively by Al.com “I know that now is not the right time. In order to spare the Millican family the pain and trauma of having to attend the hearing, I have agreed to waive my right to be considered for parole at this time.”
Janice Chatman and John Hancock were a young engaged couple from Rome. On October 4, 1982, they were abducted by Judith Neelley. John Hancock was shot in Gordon County, while Janice Chatman was brought back to a motel room, where Judith Neelley ’s husband Alvan Neelley tortured the girl. The Neelley’s then drove the girl to Haywood Valley Road, just across the Chattooga County line, where Judith Neelley murdered Chatman.
After that didn’t work, Neelley led Lisa to the rim of the gorge where she shot her in the back and shoved her into the canyon.
Judith Ann was just 15 years old when she married known criminal Alvin Neelley. Together, they soon set out on a depraved crime spree. By Paola Crespo & Shabana Bachu | Updated Aug 29, 2019 | Published Apr 14, 2016. Photo Credit: Murderpedia. He was 26, she was just 15. Together, they were a match made in hell.
Upon their release, Alvin Neelley and Judith Ann Neelley reunited—and their criminal actions took a turn for the depraved.
Soon after meeting Judith, Alvin left his wife and three children; he eloped with her in the summer of 1980 and she became Judith Ann Neelley–a teen bride to a much older man.
After Alvin Neelley and Judith Ann Neelley were apprehended for the murders of Lisa Millican and Janice Chatman, they were each sentenced to life in prison–Alvin in Georgia and Judith in Alabama, never to see each other again.
The two began a life of crime together, committing armed robberies as they traveled across the South. They slept in their car and the occasional motel room, mostly living on the run and stealing to support themselves, forging checks along the way. At sixteen, Judith Ann Neelley became pregnant with twins. This didn't slow down the crime-committing couple though, who continued their robberies well into Judith's pregnancy. A botched robbery at a Georgia mall briefly put the pair behind bars. While incarcerated, Judith gave birth to twins. Upon their release, Alvin Neelley and Judith Ann Neelley reunited—and their criminal actions took a turn for the depraved.
After a lengthy appeals process, Judith Neelley's sentence was commuted to life in prison. She continues to spend her life in jail. Alvin lived out the rest of his days behind bars, dying in November of 2005. True crime author Thomas H. Cook cracks open this twisted case in Early Graves.
On October 4, 1982, Judith targeted a young engaged couple named Janice Chatman and John Hancock. She claimed to be taking them to a party. In reality, Judith led the couple into the woods where Alvin was waiting.
She then took the victim across the state line to a motel in Scottsboro, Alabama, where Neelley’s then-husband, Alvin, raped the girl four times while the couple held her captive and tortured her, according to AL.com.
Judith Ann Neelley, serving life for killing 13-year-old girl in 1982, has another life sentence awaiting her for a separate murder conviction
Neelley, whose original death sentence was commuted to life in prison by a previous governor, should not be paroled “ not now, and not ever,” Ivey wrote in a letter to the board. “ [H]er character includes a disturbing tendency to manipulate others toward her own, violent ends. These things alone should prevent Ms. Neelley from ever stepping foot outside an Alabama prison.”
Alvin Howard Neelley, Jr. (July 15, 1953 – October 21, 2005) and Judith Ann Adams Neelley (born June 7, 1964) are an American married couple who committed the kidnappings and torture murders of Lisa Ann Millican and Janice Kay Chatman; they also attempted a third abduction. Judith was sentenced to death in 1983, but her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1999. She served her sentence at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama. Al…
Alvin Howard Neelley, Jr., was born in 1953 in Georgia, where he was a car thief during his teenage years. He met his second wife, Judith Ann Adams, when he was 26 years old and she was 15. Alvin divorced his first wife shortly before eloping with Judith in 1980.
Judith Ann Adams was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on June 7, 1964. Her father, an alcoholic, died in a motorcycle accident when she was nine. After meeting Neelley, she began her life of cri…
On September 11, 1982, Ken Dooley, a Youth Development Center employee, was shot at four times. The following day, fellow employee Linda Adair's home was firebombed with a Molotov cocktail. Phone calls were made to the victims following the attacks by a female who claimed to have been sexually abused at the YDC, but neither victim could identify the caller's voice.
Lisa Ann Millican (March 18, 1969 – September 28, 1982), at the time a 13-year-old girl from Cedartown, Georgia, was abducted by the Neelleys from Rome's Riverbend Mall on September 25, 1982. She was with other residents of the Ethel Harpst Home, a facility for neglected and abused girls and boys located in Cedartown, Georgia. Separated from her group, Millican was coerced from the mall's gaming arcade by the Neelleys. She was taken to a motel in Scottsboro, Alabama, …
Janice Chatman and John Hancock were a young engaged couple from Rome. On October 4, 1982, they were abducted by Judith. Hancock was shot while Chatman was abducted and brought back to the Neelleys' motel room, where she was tortured and murdered. Hancock survived the shooting and was able to identify the Neelleys as his assailants.
Kenneth Kines, the lead detective in the case, followed the Neelleys for three weeks before apprehending them in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Judith was arrested on October 9, 1982, and Alvin was taken into custody a few days later. Judith was deduced as being the perpetrator in the YDC attacks. To avoid the death penalty, Alvin pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated assault in Georgia. He was not tried for the Millican murd…
Alvin was incarcerated at the Bostick State Prison from 1983 until his death in October 2005.
At 18 years old, Judith became the youngest woman sentenced to death in the U.S. She was placed on Alabama's death row, at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. Judith appealed for a new trial, but it was denied in March 1987. In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed her death sentence. On January 15, 1999, Judith was days from her execution date when Governor Fob Ja…
On February 28, 2008, the Neelleys' case was profiled on the Investigation Discovery (ID) program Most Evil. On a scale developed by forensic psychiatrist Michael Stone, Judith was ranked as a category 22 killer, the "most evil" level deemed for serial torture murderers. The Neelleys were later featured on the ID programs Wicked Attraction and Deadly Women.