Allan Patterson Newman was born on February 22, 1951, in Wheaton, Maryland. He attended Virginia Tech during the 1970s and 1980s but did not complete a degree. Newman worked as a self-employed house painter and an insurance claim adjuster. His personal life was tumultuous; after a breakup in 1978, he attempted suicide by shooting himself. 

In 1982, following another breakup, he stalked his ex-girlfriend and attacked her and her date, resulting in charges including attempted murder. He pleaded guilty to battery, received probation, and underwent psychiatric counseling. By the early 1990s, Newman was residing in an apartment near the Wheaton Metro Station, described by neighbors as a quiet tenant who often struggled with rent payments.

Newman's crime spree began on February 20, 1991, with the carjacking of a 1987 Nissan Sentra in Rockville, Maryland, during which he shot the owner in the arm. The next day, he used the stolen vehicle to rob a bank in Fairfax, Virginia. On November 13, 1991, he attempted to burglarize an automobile dealership in Silver Spring, Maryland, and killed two maintenance workers, José Escobar and Maura Portillo, using a .357 Magnum. 

Subsequent crimes included multiple carjackings and bank robberies across Maryland and Virginia. On January 15, 1992, Newman murdered José Ramos during a robbery outside his Wheaton apartment. On February 24, 1992, he killed Dr. Shahin Hashtroudi, a professor at George Washington University, in Bethesda, Maryland, stealing her car for use in further crimes. ​

Newman's criminal activities culminated on October 9, 1992, when he attempted to carjack two teenage girls in Woodlawn, Maryland. Off-duty Baltimore Police officer Thomas J. Fenwick intervened, leading to a shootout. Newman fled, initiating a police chase across three states, ending in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. After a 45-minute standoff, during which he expressed suicidal intentions, Newman surrendered to authorities.

Following his arrest, ballistic evidence linked Newman to multiple murders. He pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and several weapons offenses, receiving five life sentences plus 100 years for additional charges. Newman was incarcerated at Jessup Correctional Institution in Maryland, where he was found dead in his cell on October 7, 2000. An investigation into his death was inconclusive, with no definitive cause determined.