zirovsky

William Roth Jr.

In June 1983, a patrolman in Arkansas, United States saw William Roth Jr., then 32, hitchhiking and gave Roth a ride. After dropping the hitchhiker at an interstate exit, the patrolman heard a be-on-a-lookout (BOLO) dispatch for a suspect in a murder in Clarksville, Red River County, Texas, USA.

The description matched Roth so the patrolman went back and found Roth. The patrolman took the hitchhiker into custody without any problem.

During an interview with authorities from Arkansas and Texas, Roth said he used a baseball bat to beat a male victim in Clarksville and left the victim still alive. But the victim was actually stabbed to death.

Alan Livingston

When investigators asked Roth if he had previously committed a similar crime, he admitted to hitting Alan Douglas Livingston of Rainbow City, Etowah County, Alabama, USA in the head with a board after an argument in Gadsden, Etowah County.

Livingston was 25. He last seen driving a brown 1980 Ford Bronco at the Forest River Apartments in Gadsden and was reported missing on April 16, 1983.

According to Roth, he and Livingston both frequented Players Lounge, a nightspot in Gadsden. Roth claimed that he hit Livingston in the head with a board after Livingston made an advance toward him.

Roth told investigators many different stories about what he did with Livingston’s body. Investigators could not bring charges because they never got enough information to find Livingston or his vehicle.

For the murder in Clarksville, Roth was sentenced to life in prison. In 2012, he was moved from prison to a nursing home near San Antonio, Texas due to failing health.

While conducting a water search on the Coosa River in January 2022, Chris Overstreet of Virginia, USA found Livingston’s 1980 Ford Bronco. Livingston’s skeletal remains were found inside the vehicle.

On October 27, 2022, the 1980 Ford Bronco was determined to be the brown vehicle Livingston was driving when he went missing. Meanwhile, Roth is still in a nursing home and is near death.