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Murder of Vickie Deblieux

SOLVED1994Jefferson County, Alabama, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · sexual violence · torture — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the night of February 21, 1994, Vicki Lynn Deblieux, known as Vickie Deblieux, was hitchhiking from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to her mother's home in West Monroe, Louisiana, after being dropped off by a friend. While passing through Jefferson County, Alabama, she accepted a ride from a group of four youths — 19-year-old Carey Dale Grayson, 17-year-old Trace Royal Duncan, 16-year-old Louis Christopher Mangione, and 17-year-old Kenneth Loggins — who had been drinking and using drugs. The group diverted from the route into a wooded area under the pretense of picking up another vehicle.

According to the account, the youths assaulted Deblieux, throwing bottles at her and beating her when she tried to flee. Grayson and Loggins reportedly stood on her throat, and she died in the early hours of February 22, 1994. The group then transported her body and belongings to Bald Rock Mountain, where they took her ring and clothing, sexually abused her body, and threw it off a cliff. Three of the youths later returned and mutilated the corpse, stabbing and cutting it numerous times and amputating fingers and part of a lung. Deblieux's body was discovered by rock climbers on February 26, 1994; an autopsy attributed death to blunt force trauma with asphyxiation as a possible contributing factor. All four suspects were arrested and charged by April 1994 after one displayed a severed finger and described the killing to a friend.

Between November 1995 and February 1996, the four were tried separately in Alabama state courts. Duncan, Loggins, and Grayson were each convicted of murder and sentenced to death, while Mangione received a sentence of life without parole. Circuit Judge Mike McCormick formally imposed these sentences on March 8, 1996. Subsequent appeals by all four were unsuccessful through the early 2000s.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 ruling in Roper v. Simmons, which barred execution of offenders who were minors at the time of their crimes, Duncan's death sentence was commuted to life without parole in 2005, and Loggins's was commuted in January 2006. After the 2012 Miller v. Alabama ruling made mandatory juvenile life-without-parole sentences unconstitutional, Duncan and Mangione were later granted eligibility for parole hearings beginning in 2029, while Loggins was denied parole eligibility in 2018.

Grayson, who was 19 at the time of the crime, remained on death row. His federal appeals, including a habeas corpus petition and challenges related to lethal injection protocols, were unsuccessful. In 2024, Alabama sought and received approval for a death warrant specifying execution by nitrogen gas. Grayson's final legal challenges, including appeals to federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, were denied. He was executed by nitrogen hypoxia at Holman Correctional Facility on November 21, 2024, and pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m. Deblieux's family expressed differing views on the execution, with her half-brother supporting it and her daughter opposing capital punishment.

Key facts

Victims
Vickie Deblieux
Date
1994
Location
Jefferson County, Alabama, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1994-02-21

    Vickie Deblieux begins hitchhiking from Chattanooga, Tennessee, toward Louisiana and is later picked up by four youths in Jefferson County, Alabama.

  2. 1994-02-22

    Deblieux dies from injuries inflicted by the group in the early hours of the morning.

  3. 1994-02-26

    Deblieux's body is discovered by rock climbers on Bald Rock Mountain.

  4. 1994-04

    All four suspects — Carey Dale Grayson, Trace Duncan, Louis Mangione, and Kenneth Loggins — are arrested and charged with murder.

  5. 1995-11-02

    Trace Duncan is convicted of murder; jury recommends death sentence.

  6. 1995-11-18

    Louis Mangione is convicted; jury recommends life without parole.

  7. 1995-12

    Kenneth Loggins is convicted; jury recommends death sentence.

  8. 1996-02-02

    Carey Dale Grayson is convicted of murder.

  9. 1996-02-08

    Jury recommends death sentence for Grayson.

  10. 1996-03-08

    Judge Mike McCormick formally sentences Mangione to life without parole and Duncan, Loggins, and Grayson to death.

  11. 1998

    Mangione's appeal is dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

  12. 1999

    Grayson, Duncan, and Loggins each lose appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

  13. 2001

    Alabama Supreme Court dismisses final appeals of Grayson, Duncan, and Loggins, finalizing their death sentences.

  14. 2005-04

    Duncan's death sentence is commuted to life without parole following Roper v. Simmons.

  15. 2006-01-28

    Loggins's death sentence is commuted to life without parole.

  16. 2009-09

    Grayson's federal habeas corpus petition is rejected.

  17. 2010-10

    11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejects Grayson's appeal.

  18. 2012-04-12

    Grayson's originally scheduled execution date; later postponed.

  19. 2012

    Miller v. Alabama ruling leads to re-sentencing eligibility for juvenile life-without-parole cases, including Duncan, Loggins, and Mangione.

  20. 2018

    Loggins's parole hearing results in denial; his life-without-parole sentence is maintained.

  21. 2024-06

    Alabama attorney general's office files motion seeking approval of a second death warrant for Grayson, specifying nitrogen gas execution.

  22. 2024-08-15

    Alabama Supreme Court approves Grayson's death warrant.

  23. 2024-11-06

    U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. rejects Grayson's appeal to halt execution.

  24. 2024-11-18

    11th U.S. Court of Appeals dismisses Grayson's appeal.

  25. 2024-11-21

    U.S. Supreme Court rejects Grayson's final appeal; Grayson is executed by nitrogen gas at Holman Correctional Facility and pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m.

Best coverage

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People

  • Carey Dale Grayson

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of murder and sentenced to death; executed by nitrogen gas inhalation on November 21, 2024.

    citation on file

  • Trace Royal Duncan

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of murder and originally sentenced to death; sentence commuted to life without parole in 2005 for being a minor at the time of the offense.

    citation on file

  • Kenneth Loggins

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of murder and originally sentenced to death; sentence commuted to life without parole in 2006 for being a minor at the time of the offense.

    citation on file

  • Louis Christopher Mangione

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

    citation on file

  • Vickie Deblieux

    VICTIM

    37-year-old woman kidnapped, tortured, and murdered while hitchhiking through Jefferson County, Alabama, in February 1994.

    citation on file

Places

Jefferson County, Alabama, United States

33.5527, -86.8964

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
In February 1994, 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by four youths while hitchhiking through Jefferson County, Alabama. All four were convicted; one received life without parole, and three were sentenced to death, though two later had their sentences commuted due to being minors at the time. The last, Carey Dale Grayson, was executed by nitrogen gas in November 2024.
Where did the murder happen?
Jefferson County, Alabama, United States.
Who was convicted?
Carey Dale Grayson (Convicted of murder and sentenced to death; executed by nitrogen gas inhalation on November 21, 2024.), Trace Royal Duncan (Convicted of murder and originally sentenced to death; sentence commuted to life without parole in 2005 for being a minor at the time of the offense.), Kenneth Loggins (Convicted of murder and originally sentenced to death; sentence commuted to life without parole in 2006 for being a minor at the time of the offense.), and Louis Christopher Mangione (Convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. Murder of Vickie Deblieuxwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — Associated Pressnews · Associated Press · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — CBS Newsnews · CBS News · 2026-07-07
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