Robert Glen Coe

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Robert Glen Coe (April 15, 1956 – April 19, 2000) was an American murderer from Greenfield, Tennessee. He was convicted of raping and killing eight-year-old Cary Ann Medlin in 1979 and was executed in 2000 by lethal injection in Nashville, Tennessee. His execution marked the first time Tennessee carried out a death sentence in about forty years.

Background
Coe was born in Hickman, Kentucky, and grew up in a low‑income family. He had a history of drug abuse, mental illness, and indecent exposure. His father drank heavily and sometimes forced Coe and his sister to witness sexual acts.

The crime
On September 1, 1979, Cary Ann Medlin and her stepbrother were riding their bikes in Greenfield when Coe, who knew Cary’s father, stopped to talk and asked for directions. Cary got into his car and disappeared. The next day her body was found near the edge of town, and an autopsy showed she had been sexually assaulted. Coe was arrested on September 4 and confessed on September 7, describing how he drove Cary to a secluded spot, sexually assaulted her, and then killed her after she said “Jesus loves you.” He choked her and stabbed her in the throat.

Conviction and execution
Coe was convicted in May 1981 of first‑degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated rape. He was executed by lethal injection on April 19, 2000, at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, becoming Tennessee’s first execution since 1960 and the first after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.