Faye Wilson met Ray Copeland in 1940. He was a convict, but she didn’t care. They soon married and started having children.
Ray was a fraudster. He developed a reputation for writing bad checks. As a result, he was unable to participate in the cattle trade.
He started hiring drifters to work on his property. He would send the men to purchase cattle using his bad checks.
He would sell the cattle for a profit and take the griter’s life because he had no further use for them.
Eventually, someone saw human bones on Copeland’s farm and contacted authorities.
Ray and Faye were arrested. Faye claimed to be a battered woman. She also said she didn’t know her husband was a killer.
Both were convicted of 5 counts of murder, but authorities believe they killed seven others.
They became the oldest couple sentenced to death, with Faye receiving four death sentences and one life sentence.
Ray died in prison in 1993.
Faye’s death sentences were commuted to life in prison on August 6, 1999.
Faye was released on medical parole and moved from prison to a nursing home in September 2002.
She died in a Chillicothe, Missouri, nursing home on December 23, 2003.
DOB:
August 4, 1921Conviction(s):
- Murder (5 counts)
Accomplice(s):
- Ray Copeland
Date of crime:
1986-1989Location(s):
MissouriDate of arrest:
October 17, 1989Details:
She and her husband killed multiple drifters.Confirmed Victim(s):
- Dennis K. Murphy
- Wayne Warner
- Jimmy Dale Harvey (27)
- John W. Freeman (27)
- Paul J. Cowart (20)
Method:
ShootingMotive(s):
MoneySentence:
Life without paroleCurrent whereabouts:
Died December 23, 2003Last Updated on 08/23/2026
