A night out for a couple turned into a horror story, culminating in what authorities described as one of the most brutal crime scenes they had ever witnessed.

Brian Spinks, a dedicated U.S. Air Force Sergeant and devoted single father, was known for his patriotic spirit and kind nature. In 2008, he crossed paths with Kimethia Coleman, a social worker from their hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, igniting a relationship that seemed promising.

However, the tragic events of his final night left the entire community in shock.

“The extent of Brian’s injuries suggests an attacker driven by intense rage or fury,” explained Eric Farquhar, a former Shreveport police detective, during an episode of Snapped aired on March 8, marking the show’s 700th episode. “Someone had a deep-seated reason to inflict such horrendous harm.”

In the early hours of January 17, 2010, following their return from a nightclub, Coleman frantically reported to 911 that an intruder had entered Spinks’ apartment and fatally stabbed him.

When police arrived, they discovered Spinks had been stabbed 64 times, including severe injuries to his throat that nearly resulted in decapitation. Despite no signs of forced entry, officers found two knives near his body, which corresponded to missing pieces from Spinks’ kitchen knife set.

Coleman was covered in blood from lacerations on her hands and stomach and needed hospitalization. 

“There was a great amount of blood,” former Shreveport police detective Shaunda Holmes told Snapped. “To where, when you stepped into the living room, you could hear the sound of liquid in the carpet.” 

A Jealous Ex Enters the Picture 

Coleman’s friends told detectives they had spent that evening at a nightclub with her, noting she seemed upset that a man named John had allegedly been following her. According to the women, Spinks was at the same club; however, after he and Coleman had a brief conversation, Spinks left—and soon Coleman followed. The friends had followed Coleman from the club to Spinks’ apartment to make sure she was OK. 

As the only eyewitness to the murder, Coleman told police that John—a Black man with dreadlocks, whom she had casually dated in the past—had entered the apartment and stabbed Spinks. Coleman said she tried to stop John by hitting him, but he ran off. 

John, explained Coleman, had “gotten the wrong idea” about her relationship with Spinks. 

“I told him there would never be anything…because I was with Brian,” Coleman told police in a recorded interview included on Snapped. “After a couple months, he got the picture but then he showed back up. He would pop up in crazy places.” 

Police began doubting Coleman’s story, however, when she failed to provide any details about John, such as his last name or his phone number. 

A search of Coleman’s cellphone uncovered a voicemail from Spinks—dated in between the time he left the nightclub and when Coleman arrived at his apartment—in which he told her that he was ending their relationship. 

“If She Couldn’t Have Him, No One Could”  

During the police interview, Coleman made a blindsiding confession: She was a victim of domestic violence. 

“She started telling me that Brian had, in the past, as well as that night, hit her and abused her,” Detective Farquhar told Snapped. “She felt that she deserved it and so, she didn’t say anything to anyone.”

From here, her story began to change.

Now, according to Coleman, Spinks had been drinking that evening and the two argued. She said Spinks grabbed her by the hand, then by the throat and strangled her. Coleman said when she pushed Spinks away, he grabbed a knife and stabbed her in the legs and stomach. In response, Coleman said she got her own knife from the kitchen. 

That’s when John entered the apartment and stabbed Spinks, according to Coleman—a detail that detectives said made no sense. 

Coleman was initially charged with manslaughter, which was upgraded to second-degree murder after police determined that John didn’t actually exist. Rather, authorities alleged that Coleman, in a fit of jealousy and rage, killed Spinks because he tried to break up with her.

In fact, Spinks’ father Rydell Dennis revealed that Coleman would often search his son’s apartment for evidence that he was cheating. 

“His description to me was, ‘Dad, I’m being smothered,’” Dennis told Snapped. “It progressively got worse, the jealousy and insecurity.” 

Spinks’ friends also told police that on the night of the killing, Coleman had flown into a rage when she saw Spinks dancing with another woman at the club and threatened to beat him up. 

“Kimethia was jealous and when Brian tried to break it off with her, it just made her lose her mind,” Detective Farquhar told Snapped. “If she couldn’t have him, no one could.” 

And while Coleman claimed she acted in self-defense after a prolonged period of abuse, Farquhar noted there was no documented evidence that Spinks had victimized Coleman. 

What’s more, Spinks’ autopsy report showed that his blood-alcohol level was more than twice over the legal limit—a state that likely prevented him from attacking Coleman to the extent that she needed to kill him to save her life.

Coleman’s injuries were also questionable: According to experts, they were superficial, which raised the possibility that she possibly stabbed herself. 

Ultimately, Coleman pleaded not guilty—by reason of insanity. She underwent a mental evaluation, according to Snapped, and she was deemed incompetent to stand trial. She was then admitted to a mental health facility for 90 days, after which there was a second evaluation and she was declared able to stand trial. 

During the April 2012 trial, her legal team emphasized  “Battered Woman Syndrome,” a psychological disorder that, according to Cleveland Clinic, might explain why some people stay in abusive relationships. According to Snapped, Coleman claimed that after allegedly suffering from Spinks’ abuse, her survival instincts kicked in the night of the killing.  

“There was just no evidence,” Caddo Parish District Attorney PIO Ivy Woodard told Snapped, “That pointed to Brian being an abusive person.” 

In fact, looking back on the recording of Coleman’s 911 call, in which Spinks was heard pleading for help, Farquhar believes Coleman delivered a fateful stab to him while talking to the dispatcher. 

In May 2012, a unanimous jury found Coleman guilty of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.