Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
HEFLIN, ALABAMA: In a shocking turn of events, a convict confessed to the brutal stabbing deaths of Monica Rollins, 23, and her six-year-old son, Dalton Rollins, in September 2002. Lewis Spivey, 39, reportedly made his admission immediately after completing a 15-year prison sentence on June 27. He was swiftly taken back into custody in Florida, where he had been released.
Heflin Police Captain Scott Bonner provided chilling details during a press conference held on Friday, June 30. He revealed that Monica Rollins, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time, was mercilessly stabbed to death. Her lifeless body, alongside that of her young son, was discovered several days after the murders. The tragic incident took place in Heflin, a city located 75 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama. Remarkably, Monica' 3-year-old son Aaron had managed to survive the ordeal, hiding unharmed in a closet until investigators found him alongside his family's mutilated bodies. Over the past two decades, the police had tirelessly pursued leads and potential suspects, but the case had remained unsolved and eventually gone cold.
Who is Lewis Spivey?
According to Captain Bonner, Spivey had harbored the dark secret of his involvement until his release from a Florida prison. He had been serving time since 2010 for robbery with a gun or deadly weapon and aggravated assault offenses committed in 2009, as confirmed by records from the Florida Department of Corrections. "Spivey has since cooperated with the investigation and has given a complete confession wherein he outlined the timeline of the events that day and taken sole responsibility for both murders," stated Captain Bonner.
While Spivey was described as an "acquaintance" of Monica, Captain Bonner did not disclose any motive or the circumstances leading up to the horrific killings. The breakthrough in the case was attributed to a grant received by the Heflin Police Department for DNA analysis. Multiple items have been processed by a state laboratory and private labs in Canada, although specific details regarding the findings were not provided.
Past challenges faced during the investigation
Captain Bonner acknowledged that Spivey had been previously investigated immediately after the stabbings, but detectives had encountered a dead end due to the lack of surveillance, photographs, or security cameras available at the time. He highlighted the technological advancements in law enforcement over the past two decades, emphasizing that the department lacked the resources and tools that would be readily available today. Following his confession, Spivey was transferred to Alabama and is currently held at the Cleburne County Jail without bail. The state's Aniah's Law, which denies bail to violent offenders accused of crimes such as murder and human trafficking, is being applied in his case, as per NBC News.
Seeking closure for the family
Approaching the Rollins family to inform them of the breakthrough and secure their approval was one of the most challenging aspects of reopening the case, as revealed by Captain Bonner. He empathized with the family's ordeal, stating, "They'd been through hell for the last 20 years. I wanted to bring them some closure. Along with that, I had the part of me that was thinking, if we fail at this, we have just opened these old wounds." Bonner added, "Anybody that has a heart, that has spoken to this family, has seen the pain." While Heflin Police Chief Ross McGlaughn said in a statement, "On behalf of Mayor Robby Brown, the men and women of the city of the Heflin Police Department, and the citizens of Heflin, I would like to send our heartfelt condolences to the family of Monica and Dalton. Hopefully, this will bring you some sense of closure to this awful chapter in your lives."
