The murder of Katie Autry

It was the very early hours of Sunday, May 4, 2003 when the fire alarm began blaring throughout the halls of Hugh Poland Hall on the campus of Western Kentucky University (WKU). Since this was a common issue, whether it was from someone falsely pulling the alarm or from a random bag of burned popcorn, students didn’t budge from their beds until the RA filtered through the halls, knocking on doors, rousing students. As the students sleepily filed out of the building & into the chilly night air, most just assumed it was a false alarm. Firefighters responded to the dorm within three minutes & as students continued to wait outside, rumors started to filter around that something happened in room 214 to the “blond girl.” Many knew that this blond girl being referenced from room 214 was Katie Autry.

Melissa Kaye “Katie” Autry was born on June 10, 1984 in the tiny town of Rosine, Kentucky that has a population of about one hundred people. Initially Katie lived with her grandparents, her mother Donnie Autry & her younger sister Lisa, but when she was about eight-years-old, she & her sister were placed into foster care due to her mother’s mental illness & inability to care for them. Katie & Lisa moved around homes until they settled with Jim & Shirley Inman in Pellville, Kentucky. Life was more structured & strict in the Christian household & they tried to keep her out of trouble. Despite her new living situation, Katie never lost contact with her mom.

Katie thrived in high school; she was a very determined student & participated in cheerleading as well as multiple clubs. She was a standout cheerleader & her petite build put her as the team’s flyer or top position who is in the air during a stunt. Katie was described as quirky, fun-loving & one of the funniest people in the room. She earned a college scholarship from the Kentucky Association of Pep Organization Sponsors based on the recommendation from her teachers & coaches. Katie’s cheerleading coach remembers how determined she was; if something didn’t come easy, she would work hard to do her best. She felt that Katie was amazing & had overcome so much adversity in her life. As Katie moved toward college, she chose to go to Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky in order to stay close to her biological family who were so proud of her. Katie was actually the first member of her family to attend college; she was only the second member of the family to graduate high school. It was her goal to become a dental hygienist & make more of her life than she had growing up.

Freshman year at WKU began in the fall of 2002 & 18-year-old Katie immediately fell in love with the independence of college life. Katie & her roommate, Danica Jackson lived in Hugh Poland Hall & became close & often attended college parties together. Katie lived on the second floor of the dorm & was well liked with her floormates. As freshman year continued, Katie made the difficult decision to remove herself from the foster system in order to truly solidify her independence. With this, she lost her college funding & the sudden financial change meant that Katie needed to focus on working. At this point, she changed her student status to part-time, reducing her schedule to eight hours for second semester & began taking various jobs to cover her school expenses.

Katie got a job at Freshens, a food & smoothie shop in Downing University Center & her smiling face became a fixture there. She also began dancing at a Bowling Green gentleman’s club called Tattle Tails. Her family talked with her about this decision, concerned for her safety but Katie was doing her best to make ends meet. On April 30, Katie attended a campus fashion show called Summer Madness & at the last minute, she was asked to model some of the clothes. She had a blast showing off the clothes as she strutted down the runway.

On Saturday, May 3, 2003, Katie & her roommate Danica started their night by “pre-gaming” & then heading to a Senior Send-off party at the Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) frat house.

The party was said to be small with about fifty guests who stayed most of the night while others filtered in & out. By the time Katie arrived, she was already intoxicated. Some would say that when Katie overindulged, she became very emotional & tearful & Danica felt that she needed to be closely supervised. When they arrived, Katie spotted a guy she had been involved with named Maurice & asked him to dance but he declined & this caused Katie to become very upset. Those that knew the relationship between Katie & Maurice would say that Katie was interested in something serious whereas Maurice just wanted to have fun. She became belligerent toward Maurice & slapped him & at this point, the hosts of the party asked that she leave since she was causing a scene.

Danica was having fun & didn’t want to leave the party so she found a frat pledge who served as a designated driver & asked him to drive Katie home at around 1:30-2 am. Danica thanked the driver & promised to call Katie later. At 2:30 am, as promised, Danica called to check in & make sure Katie was okay. Katie answered & told her that there was a guy in her room & she just wanted to go to sleep. When Danica asked who this guy was, Katie said she didn’t know. Danica asked to speak to this person who got on the phone & informed her that he was the person who drove her home & had walked her to her room to ensure her safety. As the call was wrapping up, he reassured her not to worry & Danica heard the voice of another male but was unable to hear what he was saying. Danica had plans to stay with a friend that night & wasn’t overly concerned about Katie, assuming she would just fall asleep & she would see her in the morning.

About an hour & a half later, at 4:08 am, the fire alarm at Hugh Poland Hall sounded.

As first responders entered the building, they quickly located the source of the fire on the second floor, in room 214. When they entered the room, they noted that the sprinkler system had already extinguished the fire & noticed something glistening on the bed. They quickly realized they were looking at a person’s arm & took in the sight of the badly beaten & burned body of a female. When they saw her chest rising, it was clear this person was still alive. This person was Katie & firefighters found her shirt wrapped around her face & a rag wrapped around the sprinkler system. As firefighters took in the scene, it was tragically clear that Katie’s body had been the source of the fire & someone had set her on fire while she was still alive. As her badly burned body was carried from the dorm & the perimeter of the building was cleared, she managed to say, “Take me home.” The firefighter placed his own oxygen mask on Katie until EMS could arrive. It was later determined that things had been taken from the dorm room but was believed to be in an attempt to make it look like a burglary.

The Inmans called Katie’s family at 5 am & told them that she had been in an accident & they rushed to the medical center in Bowling Green. The doctors told them that Katie was found with a towel tied around her throat & mouth. This was when the family realized that someone had done this to her; the severity of her burns indicated that it was not an accidental burn. It was also noted that Katie had 3-4 shallow cuts on the left side of her neck & it was clear she had been struck with force on her right eye which was swollen shut. The cord of a curling iron was wrapped around her neck in addition to the t-shirt. Officials could see that Katie had been tortured before she was set on fire. At this point, she was in a medically induced coma & being prepared to be airlifted to Nashville. Because of the severity of her condition, police were unable to get any information from Katie as to what happened & who did this to her.

When Katie arrived at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, she was in critical condition & was found to have third-degree burns from just above her breasts down to her inner thighs as well as significant burns localized to her genital area. At this point, Kentucky State Police, Bowling Green Police & WKU Police were involved in the investigation, but after further discussion, it was decided that WKU Police would take the lead. This case was very much out of what was typical for this force to handle. An aerosol can was located & deemed to be the source of the accelerant. Alcohol gel had been placed inside Katie’s genital area, likely to obscure evidence of a sexual assault. Tragically, Katie passed away three days later, on May 7, 2003. The autopsy was complete the following day & beside the third-degree burns, Katie’s body also had abrasions & puncture wounds on her neck & face likely caused from a pen or pencil.

Police started the investigation by putting the pieces of Katie’s night together. When police spoke with Danica, she explained the situation that she had been staying somewhere else that night, leaving Katie home alone. She told them about Katie riding home with the designated driver & the eerie phone call when she checked in on Katie. She didn’t know the driver’s name but gave police a description of him & his truck. After learning of the two men that were with Katie in her room shortly before the fire began, police knew they needed to find these men. Katie’s RA confirmed that she came back between 1:30-2 am & said that she was alone & seemed to be in good spirits & they hadn’t noticed anything suspicious.

When Maurice was questioned, police knowing that he & Katie had argued at the party, he said that he left the party at 2:15 am & caught a cab back to his own dorm where he hung out with friends watching a slam dunk contest & playing video games until he went to sleep at 3:45 am which was all confirmed. Police spoke with members of the frat to determine who drove Katie home & learned that it was Ryan Payne. Police found him at his dorm & he explained that he had dropped her off & she walked in alone. He said he had not spoken to Danica on the phone & instead, had gone straight back to the party & hung out with friends until 5 am. This information was corroborated by his friends. During his discussion with police, Ryan indicated that Katie wasn’t the only person in the car that night. He said he had borrowed another frat member’s car that night & the owner of the car’s friend was passed out in the truck. This friend was 20-year-old Stephen Soules, a resident of nearby Scottsville who did not attend WKU. Ryan said he dropped Katie off at Poland Hall & Stephen was dropped off nearby & he saw him begin to walk in the direction of Katie’s dorm.

During questioning with police on May 7, Stephen indicated that he was black out drunk & remembers little to nothing of his interactions with Katie that night. He said his friend picked him up by the dorms & he went back to his house where he stayed for the rest of the night. Stephen’s friend was interviewed & this gave Stephen an alibi. At this point, police seemed to be at a standstill but continued to find out more about Katie, her whereabouts that night & if anyone would have any reason to want to hurt her. Police learned that Katie had been working part-time, dancing at Tattle Tails. People wondered if this could have been a link to her murder. Katie had only worked there for a few weeks before her murder & police quickly ruled Tattle Tails out as a connection.

On May 8, the alibi for Stephen Soules contacted police to rescind his alibi, saying that he was up until 4:30 am & Stephen was not there. Police went in search for Stephen at his family’s house with state police since it was out of the WKU PD’s jurisdiction but he wasn’t there. The next day, May 9th, Stephen contacted police & agreed to a second interview. On May 10th, he told police that he & a group of his friends had also “pre-gamed” before the frat party & when they arrived, he was already intoxicated. He got sick & went to sleep in the back of his friend’s truck. He claimed that as Katie was driven home, he & Katie fooled around in the backseat, making out. Initially, he indicated that he never went up to her room but later admitted that he followed her out of the car & snuck through the building’s door before it could close. He said he followed Katie up to her room & they had consensual sex. He said he knew nothing about the attack or the fire & she was fine when he left.

There was no CCTV coverage of the area though police placed VHS tapes on the table & labeled them “Poland Hall” so that Stephen was under the impression they had footage. He eventually broke down & told police that someone made him do it. He said after he & Katie were done having sex, a stranger entered the room & attacked her. Police did not believe this story & felt that Stephen knew this person because Danica had heard the voice of two men when she spoke with Katie. As Stephen continued to speak with police, he changed his story & told them his friend, 21-year-old Lucas Goodrum called him & asked him where he was. He said that Lucas came over & eventually told Katie that he wanted to have sex with her. When Katie refused, Stephen said that Lucas violently attacked her & Katie tried to fight back, but being a much smaller stature, he easily overpowered her. He said that Lucas threatened to hurt his family if he didn’t join in to do exactly what Lucas did & join in on the attack.

That same night, May 10, police brought Lucas in for questioning & he admitted seeing Katie at the frat party & noted that she was really intoxicated; he said she touched his stomach as she walked by him. He absolutely denied having anything to do with her murder & said he looked for Stephen & when he couldn’t find him, he drove back to his home in Scottsville, arriving between 3:30-4 am. Stephen & Lucas knew each other from high school & both attended Allen County-Scottsville High School; Lucas played football & graduated in 2000 while Stephen dropped out.

In the spring of 2003, Lucas Goodrum was twenty-one years old; he wasn’t a student at WKU or anywhere for that matter & he didn’t hold down a steady job. He had already been married & divorced by this time & had a young son. His ex-wife indicated that he was abusive to her & just the day before Katie was murdered, Lucas was accused of domestic violence against his 17-year-old girlfriend. His girlfriend told Scottsville Police that Lucas assaulted her with a cellphone at his apartment & later held her down in the car and refused to let her go. In order to issue an arrest warrant, she needed the signature of her parents since she was a minor & no warrant was issued.

Lucas’ mother married the grandson of the founder of Dollar General stores & became Lucas’ stepfather years earlier. They lived on a ranch in Texas where Lucas stayed until he relocated to Scottsville, Kentucky to stay with his dad & stepmother when he was a junior in high school. He met & became friends with Stephen Soules but the two often argued because Lucas felt that Stephen was a freeloader & a liar. Their arguing escalated when Stephen told Lucas’ girlfriend that he was cheating on her & at this point, Lucas called Stephen, who was of mixed race, a racial slur. Despite this, the two decided to hang out on the night of May 3 & go to the frat party together with a group of mutual friends.

Lucas remained adamant that he had no involvement in the rape & murder of Katie. His father & stepmother indicated that he was home in Scottsville about twenty-five miles from the university before 4 am which was the time that the smoke alarms went off at the dorm which provided him an alibi. He also had a receipt from a gas station on his drive back home though the station had no video surveillance to prove it was Lucas who got gas.

Authorities began to believe that Stephen Soules was telling the truth about Lucas since Lucas had a record for being violent & Stephen did not. On May 12, Stephen Soules & Lucas Goodrum were each arrested & charged with first-degree capital murder & both faced the death penalty. Both pleaded not guilty under the advice of their private attorneys. Stephen’s attorney later withdrew & he was appointed two public defenders. At this point, the only thing pinning Lucas to Katie’s murder was Stephen’s words.

As the investigation continued, the DNA found on Katie came back & despite the attempt of utilizing alcohol gel to burn any evidence, the DNA was a match for Stephen Soules. No evidence found was linked back to Lucas. Because the evidence against Lucas was lacking, authorities began to question if they could secure a conviction & decided to offer Stephen a deal.

On March 23, 2004, Stephen pleaded guilty to all charges which included murder, rape, sodomy, arson, robbery, complicity to commit robbery & complicity to commit rape & in exchange, the death penalty was removed. The plea deal meant that Stephen had to testify against Lucas in the upcoming trial for capital murder.

During the trial, Stephen changed his story again, indicating that Lucas was still the person who attacked, beat & raped Katie, but after Lucas forced Stephen to rape her, he is the one who used a can of hairspray to light Katie on fire. He said he only did this because Lucas threatened him. This is a contrast to his previous story of Lucas being the person who set Katie on fire. He said that Lucas himself raped Katie for more than thirty minutes & that she fought back to no avail. He said he only did what he did because Lucas used him to cover up what he had done. To recap, Stephen’s DNA was the only found at the scene of the crime & he was now admitting to raping her & setting her on fire, ultimately causing her death. Lucas had an alibi, his parents claiming he was home at the time the fire alarm sounded at 4 am & there was no evidence directly connecting him to the crime.

One potential connection came from a jailhouse informant that claimed that Lucas confessed the crime to him while he awaited trial. In the defense closing arguments, attorney David Broderick reinforced that there was no evidence linking Lucas to the crime & no eyewitnesses could place him there & because there is reasonable doubt, the jury should find him not guilty. After three hours of deliberation, Lucas Goodrum was found not guilty on all charges & released after spending 22 months in prison. He said he had been terrified that his life could have been taken away by a lie.

Katie’s family was devastated by this & believed he had gotten away with rape & murder but jurors indicated despite questioning if he could be guilty, there was no physical evidence to show that without a doubt, he was guilty. On May 12, 2005, Stephen Soules was sentenced to life with no possibility of parole & remains in the Kentucky Department of Corrections. Years later, Lucas was found guilty of domestic violence & terroristic threats against his ex-wife. He since moved to Texas & has stayed under the radar living at a ranch owned by his mother.

Despite being found not guilty, many people believe Lucas was guilty. In order to access the dorm, a key card needed to be used; we know that Stephen tailgated into the building behind Katie. If Lucas did come in, it’s unclear how he would have gotten into the building. Is it possible that he truly was innocent & Stephen was simply pointing the finger at him to divert attention from himself. What about the second voice that Danica heard when she spoke to Katie for the last time? Lucas’ parents had given him an alibi afterall. Following Katie’s murder, Cal Turner Jr who is the uncle of Lucas’ stepfather & heir of Dollar General, made a $500,000 donation to KWU. Some believe it was simply Lucas’ white privilege that afforded him better lawyers than Stephen was able to hire that allowed him freedom.

On April 25, 2008, Stephen filed a motion to vacate his conviction, claiming that his defense counsel failed to investigate & interview alibi witnesses & that he was pressured to plead guilty. On June 23, 2008, this was denied. Katie’s murder prompted the discussion of improved campus safety & the university continues to try & create a safer campus, especially in the dorms. Students must now check all guests in by leaving their IDs with the desk clerk who then records who is entering the building. Katie’s family felt she should have been safe in her dorm room, of all places & filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university in September of 2003, indicating the university failed to provide proper security that could have saved Katie’s life. In 2007, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that WKU is protected under sovereign immunity which means that a government cannot be sued without its consent. Reports indicate that in 2009, WKU was found negligent for Katie’s death & the Kentucky Board of Claims awarded $200,000 to the Autry’s estate which was administered by Katie’s mom, Donnie Autry, her sister Lisa Autry & her Aunt Virginia White.

Even sixteen years later, in 2019, loved ones of Katie’s gathered at WKU to honor her memory & raise awareness of her life & tragic death.

It is their goal to make sure people don’t forget. Some students stopped to ask about the gathering & some were familiar with Katie’s story. Her family said they still struggle with the weight of grief in dealing with Katie’s death. They indicated that her dorm room was turned into a janitor’s closet which they felt was disrespectful. They feel the university should at the very least, have a memorial plaque to honor Katie & family will often visit her gravesite as a way of coping with their deep loss. Family say that Katie should be remembered as strong, determined, fun & loving; one of those genuine people who could have made a difference in the world & changed it if she had only been given the chance.

References:

Crime and Coffee Couple

The murder of Katie Autry

Leave a comment Cancel reply

The murder of Katie Autry

Share this:

Leave a comment Cancel reply