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Background

In 1989, 22-year-old Margaret Allen was on the cover of Florida Today along with her daughter Alvinia after being the first birth in Brevard County that year.

Sixteen years later, she was in the news for a darker reason.

Crime

On February 8th, 2005, 39-year-old Margaret Ann Allen was at her home in Brevard County, Florida, with her nephew Quintin Allen when she noticed her purse and $2000 were missing.

She left the home briefly while Quintin stayed behind with her children. When Margaret returned, she had her 39-year-old friend and housekeeper, Wenda Wright, with her.

Margaret told Quintin she thought Wright had taken her purse. They searched for it, but they couldn’t find it. Margaret left the home again and told Quintin not to let Wright leave.

When Margaret came back, Wright started crying and begging to leave. She tried to get away, but Margaret hit her on the head, causing her to fall to the ground.

Quintin claimed he was forced at gunpoint to hold Wright down while Margaret retrieved bleach, rubbing alcohol, and other items from other places in the home.

She poured the chemicals on Wright’s face.

Hearing the commotion, one of Margaret’s kids came out to see what was happening. Instead of stopping her assault on Wright, Margaret included her child in the crime by asking him to get her a piece of duct tape.

Margaret attempted to place the duct tape on Wright’s mouth, but her face was wet from the chemicals, and it did not stick.

Next, Margaret got some belts and beat her with them.

Wright begged for her life, telling the duo, “Please stop, please stop; I am going to piss myself.”

Quintin put a belt around her ankles, and soon after that, Margaret put one around her neck and strangled the helpless woman.

Afterward, they wrapped her up in a sheet. Quintin left the home, and overnight, Wright was wrapped in a rug and moved to a different room.

The next day, Margaret told her friend James Martin she needed help getting rid of a body. Martin went to Margaret’s brother’s home to borrow a truck.

After that, they picked Quintin up from a nearby barbershop. Quintin claimed this was also at gunpoint.

The trio went to nearby stores to get plywood and a dolly to help them move the body. After getting it into the truck, they took the body to an area just off the highway and dug a grave. They dumped the deceased housekeeper in the hole and covered it with dirt before leaving.

When they returned to Margaret’s home, Quintin left while Margaret and Martin cleaned up the truck and other evidence.

Soon after, Quintin went to the police and turned himself in. He also took them to Wright’s body. Margaret and Martin were arrested three days after the murder.

Legal Proceedings

Quintin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 15-year sentence.

Martin pleaded guilty to his role in helping get rid of Wright’s body and received five years in prison.

When Margaret went to trial in 2012, she, Quintin, and Martin testified against her. She had no defense strategy, and her attorneys did not call a single witness.

A jury convicted the 45-year-old of first-degree murder and kidnapping. The jurors recommended she receive the death penalty.

The judge followed their recommendation and sent Allen to death row. Only two women had been executed in Florida in the past 100 years: Judy Buenoano in 1998 and Aileen Wuornos in 2002, so it was essentially a life sentence.

She died on December 13th, 2024, while awaiting execution.