Wayne Carl Coleman, born December 9, 1946, in East Nottingham, Pennsylvania, was the youngest of five children by Betty Jamison Isaacs. His father left early, and Wayne grew up in economic hardship. He entered a troubled adolescence, eventually landing in prison for burglary and robbery. After serving time, he was transferred to the Poplar Hill Prison Camp in Maryland—a minimum-security facility—where he befriended Carl Isaacs and George Dungee.

On May 5, 1973, Coleman and two inmates, Carl Isaacs and George Dungee, escaped from Poplar Hill. They gathered Carl's 15-year-old brother Billy and moved south. On May 10, in Pennsylvania, they kidnapped and fatally shot 19-year-old Richard Miller to steal his car.

On May 14, 1973, the group invaded the Alday mobile home near Donalsonville, Georgia. Coleman fatally shot Ned Alday (after the initial shot failed) and Chester Alday. Meanwhile, Carl Isaacs killed other family members and raped Mary Alday; Coleman aided in holding victims and participated in the sexual assault. Mary was later executed by Dungee.

They fled, were captured in West Virginia on May 19, 1973, and brought to trial. In January 1974, Coleman was found guilty on six counts of murder and sentenced to death. During sentencing, the jury deliberated but failed to reach unanimity for Coleman; they requested execution for some murders but split on others. As a result, the jury’s split vote led Judge Lawson to impose multiple life sentences, with Coleman eligible for parole after 15 years.

A 1985 appellate reversal (due to prejudicial pretrial publicity) led to a retrials; Coleman was convicted again in May 1988, reaffirming six life sentences. As of March 2025, Wayne Coleman remains incarcerated at Wilcox State Prison in Georgia. He has repeatedly been denied parole and remains behind bars under those consecutive life sentences