On April 27, 1986, 24-year-old Linda Jean Coats was found dead in her trailer in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Coats, a university student enrolled in the Army’s ROTC program and scheduled to receive her commission the week she was killed, had been sexually assaulted and died from a gunshot wound to the head.

The investigation linked the crime to Ronald Adrin Gray, a 21-year-old Army cook stationed at Fort Bragg. Gray’s offenses in the Fayetteville area spanned from April 1986 to January 1987 and included multiple rapes and murders. In civilian court he pleaded guilty to the murders of Linda Coats and Tammy Wilson and received eight life sentences. A military court later convicted him of additional murders and sentenced him to death; he has been confined at the U.S. Army Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth since his sentencing.

Anyone who knew Linda, her routine, or has information about her last days is asked to come forward with tips or recollections.