David Gentry Coleman
Real Name: David Gentry Coleman
Aliases: David Burkett
Wanted For: Child Abuse, Aggravated Assault
Missing Since: March 1994
Case[]
Details: Forty-year-old David Coleman of La Porte, Texas, vanished in March of 1994, a month before he was charged with six counts of aggravated assault against a child. Coleman's son and daughter claimed that for two years, between 1992 and 1994, he repeatedly abused them and then intimidated them into silence. Medical examinations confirmed the children's accusations. After he fled Texas, Coleman arrived in New Orleans. He vowed that he would not been taken alive, even though he claims he is innocent. Authorities fear that he may now be abusing other children.
Extra Notes: This case first aired as a Special Bulletin on the October 18, 1996 episode of Unsolved Mysteries.
Coleman after his arrest
Results: Captured. On October 23, 1996, Coleman was arrested at a motel in Jackson, Mississippi, thanks to viewer's tips. He had been living in Jackson for at least a year, working as a security guard under the name "Mark Burkett". He was returned to Texas, convicted of multiple sexual assault charges, and sentenced to sixty-one years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2026.
Links:
- David Coleman on Unsolved Archive
- Crime show leads to tips, Hinds arrest
- Fugitive nabbed in Jackson motel after tv show airs
- Television program leads to man's arrest
- David Coleman on the Texas Tribune
- David Coleman on Bail Bond City