Bio

J. C. Levice was born on August 26, 1920. His full first name has not been verified, and most records identify him only by the initials J. C. Levice. He was from Goose Creek, Texas. Before the murder, Levice was serving in the United States Army at Fort Huachuca in Cochise County, Arizona. He was one of three soldiers involved in the case, along with Charles Sanders and Grady B. Cole.

By January 1942, Levice and his two co-defendants were absent without leave from Fort Huachuca. They were later arrested in Texas after authorities found the victim’s blood-covered vehicle and connected it to Coy C. Qualls, a missing Arizona taxi driver. Levice was around 21 years old at the time of the murder.

Murder Story

On January 7, 1942, J. C. Levice, Charles Sanders, and Grady B. Cole hired taxi driver Coy Collier Qualls near Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The three men were soldiers and had left the post without proper permission. After returning to Fort Huachuca, they decided to go out again and travel toward Douglas, Arizona. Before leaving, the men discussed robbing and killing Qualls. Cole picked up a rock near the post exchange, which was later used in the attack.

During the drive, the men made Qualls stop the car by saying they needed to relieve themselves. When Qualls stopped, Cole struck him with the rock, and Sanders hit him with a bottle. Qualls got out of the car, but the attack continued. Prosecutors also said Levice kicked Qualls while he was on the ground, though Levice denied striking him.

After the assault, the men placed Qualls’s body in the taxi and continued driving. Cole later used a pocketknife on Qualls’s throat because he thought Qualls might still be alive. The men took money from Qualls and gave it to Levice, who was reportedly driving. They drove about nine miles beyond Douglas, removed Qualls’s body from the car, and dragged it into the bushes. His body remained there for several days. The men then fled in Qualls’s vehicle and traveled to Texas.

The case was discovered after Texas authorities found Qualls’s blood-covered car near a bus station. Police traced the vehicle back to Arizona and learned that Qualls was missing. They also learned that Levice, Sanders, and Cole were absent without leave from Fort Huachuca. The three men were arrested in Texas and later confessed. They also told authorities where Qualls’s body had been left. On January 17, 1942, Levice, Sanders, and Cole were charged with murder in Cochise County, Arizona. All three pleaded guilty. On January 21, 1942, the court sentenced them to death.

Their case was later reviewed by the Arizona Supreme Court, but the death sentences were upheld. On January 8, 1943, exactly one year after Qualls’s murder, Levice, Sanders, and Cole were executed by lethal gas at the Arizona State Prison in Florence. Levice was executed after Sanders and Cole and was pronounced dead after the gas was released.