TEXARKANA, Texas -A woman accused of capital murder in the 2012 death of a Texarkana man was set for a January 2022 jury trial Monday.
Alana Leigh Coleman, 39, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Mexico in October in connection with the Aug. 12, 2012, death of Donald Ray Morris. She allegedly fled to Mexico later the same month, eluding authorities for about eight years.
Coleman appeared Monday via video with Texarkana lawyer Butch Dunbar for a pretrial hearing before 5th District Judge Bill Miller. Dunbar said he believes the case is ready for a trial setting.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter agreed and noted that based on the court's existing trial schedule and the nature of the charge against Coleman, she believes a setting after the first of next year is appropriate.
Miller scheduled the case for jury selection Jan. 25.
Because the state is not seeking the death penalty for Coleman, she faces life without the possibility of parole if convicted of capital murder. Coleman is being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $1 million.
Morris was discovered dead in his unit of the Redwood Apartments on Seventh Street in Texarkana, Texas, by police Aug. 12, 2012. 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 911.
"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 it was a murder for money. Coleman was allegedly a prostitute known to visit Morris. Nude photos of Coleman were allegedly discovered on a camera in Morris' apartment.
In addition to capital murder, Coleman is facing a motion to revoke a probation for possession of a controlled substance and a warrant for failure to appear on a misdemeanor theft charge.