TEXARKANA, Texas - A woman who was arrested in Mexico last year in connection with a 2012 murder in Bowie County will not face the death penalty if convicted of capital murder.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter made the announcement Monday morning at a hearing before 5th District Judge Bill Miller for Alana Leigh Coleman. This means Coleman will be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole if a jury finds her guilty of capital murder.
Coleman, 39, is accused of stabbing Donald Ray Morris with a knife and scissors on Aug. 12, 2012.
Coleman was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Mexico in October on a capital murder charge. She was allegedly filmed crossing the U.S. border in late August 2012.
Her case was scheduled for arraignment Monday but issues concerning who will defend her against the charges led the court to table that until next month. Assistant Public Defender Sylvia Delgado said her office has discovered a conflict as it represents someone related to the case.
Carter said Coleman does not have a codefendant and asked that the public defender identify the nature of the conflict they believe disqualifies their office.
Miller appointed Texarkana lawyer Butch Dunbar to the defense and rescheduled arraignment for February. Coleman attempted to assert legal theories of her own.
"Would this be an incurable error being that I gave her (Delgado) information (about my case)," Coleman mused.
Coleman's single conversation with Delgado last year is unlikely to sway a judge that her right to attorney/client privilege or any other rights have been so violated as to warrant a dismissal of a capital murder charge. Miller cut Coleman off, appointed Dunbar and rescheduled the case.
Coleman's DNA was allegedly discovered at the murder scene, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Morris was discovered dead in his unit of the Redwood Apartments on 7th Street in Texarkana, Texas, by police. A manager at the apartments noticed a broken window with blood on it and blood on Morris' door when she went to deliver the mail at about 6:30 p.m. that evening and called police.
"There appeared to have been a very violent struggle in the apartment and there was blood spatter all over the apartment," the affidavit states.
A broken pair of bloody scissors and a broken knife were found near the body. Neighbors of Morris' told investigators they had seen Coleman's car parked at the complex earlier that day.
Investigators believe Coleman murdered Morris because she wanted his cash.
In December 2012, investigators received a report from the crime lab that indicated DNA from an unknown female had been found at the murder scene.
Investigators wanted to compare Coleman's DNA to the sample but Coleman was believed to be in Mexico. To obtain a sample of Coleman's DNA, investigators went to Coleman's mother. The mother told investigators Coleman had been living with her brother until she allegedly assaulted and robbed the brother in April 2012.
The brother told investigators he had placed all of Coleman's belongings in garbage bags and stored them in a shed in his mother's backyard. The bags were collected by police.
Items from the bags, including unwashed panties, toothbrushes and razors, were sent to the crime lab. Ultimately the lab tested the panties and a sample with the same DNA profile as found at the murder scene was allegedly discovered.
Now that Coleman is in custody, investigators are able to obtain a search warrant for Coleman's DNA and collect a sample directly from her.
Coleman is being held with bail set at $1 million. In addition to capital murder, Coleman is facing a motion to revoke a probation she was serving for possession of a controlled substance and a warrant for failure to appear on a misdemeanor theft charge.