Therese Apel

The Clarion-Ledger

On Monday, Sheriff Bryan Bailey promised the public that he and his deputies wouldn't rest until Alex Deaton was in custody.

Wednesday morning, Bailey was exhausted, but visibly relieved as he addressed the media about the manhunt for the accused murderer that had finally ended in a fiery crash in Kansas.

"It’s like a weight off your chest. I can breathe," he said. "From the time we were trying to track him when he went off the grid Saturday until today, my worst nightmare was that he was going to pop up here in Mississippi again and go on another killing spree."

Deaton's alleged spree started with his petite blonde girlfriend Heather Robinson, a nurse, in her Rankin County apartment. Bailey said police believe they know what started Deaton on a seemingly erratic spiral that culminated on that interstate in Kansas Wednesday morning.

"The critical point was when poor Heather realized she didn’t want to have a relationship with him. He wasn’t going to let her go and went into a fit of rage," Bailey said.

Robinson was found strangled Friday afternoon, but authorities believe it happened sometime Wednesday or early Thursday. Deaton left in her 2012 GMC Acadia. He is charged with murder in her death.

From there, police said the next victim was Brenda Pinter, 69, who was shot to death in the office of the Dixon Baptist Church in Neshoba County.

Neshoba County Sheriff Tommy Waddell said surveillance footage that ties Heather Robinson's car to the scene, in addition to other physical evidence, helped link Deaton to that slaying. Deaton was a suspect prior to Wednesday but he was charged with murder in Pinter's death Wednesday afternoon.

Most damning could have been a text message Deaton is said to have sent that alluded to the killing.

"We've had this text for several days now. He sent a text out and it referred to killing a person in the church," Waddell said.

Deaton then allegedly returned to Robinson's apartment, and as he fled there early Friday morning, police believe he shot a jogger. The woman was not fatally injured. So far, there is nothing that ties the three women — Robinson, Pinter, and the jogger.

Deaton is a former AT&T employee, and authorities believe knowledge of cellphone technology could have dictated some of his moves, making him harder to track. But Bailey said many of Deaton's other texts during that time were nonsensical, but they could have connected him to other crimes as well.

"He may have committed other homicides. There very well could be some more unsolved murders, because he covered a lot of ground between Friday when he left Rankin County and today," he said.

Deaton passed through Missouri and Oklahoma, and was believed to be in Tulsa over the weekend. Authorities said his ex-wife is in that area, and that they were concerned he could be trying to reach her.

While investigators feel like Deaton's movements and actions were erratic, that he had "snapped," they note his evasive tactics with his cellphone and the fact he shaved his head seem to imply he had some knowledge he was attempting to avoid being caught.

Deaton resurfaced overnight near Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Bailey said he came out of the woods at the La Luz Trail head parking area with a shovel and a gun and allegedly forced a couple into the trunk of their 2001 Honda Civic. Leaving Robinson's Acadia with the stolen Missouri tag at the scene, he headed toward Forest Road 333, authorities said.

When Deaton slowed the car, the male victim was able to pull the emergency release from inside the trunk and both victims escaped, according to authorities. Leaving the car, Deaton was able to catch the woman. He took her to a nearby residence where he allegedly stole a van.

At some point, authorities said, she was able to escape as well, and when he passed by the Civic, abandoned when the male victim got a ride to the hospital, he got back into it.

Both victims identified Deaton as the suspect in this incident, according to authorities on the scene.

Bailey said Bernalillo County and Sandoval County sheriff's offices in New Mexico contacted Rankin County authorities around 11 p.m. Tuesday inquiring about the Acadia.

Deaton was next spotted when the Kiowa County Kansas Sheriff's Department was involved in a pursuit with the stolen Civic. They chased the car into the Pratt city limits and were able to stop the vehicle with stop sticks. Deaton escaped on foot, authorities said.

They said Deaton then doubled back and went into a convenience store around 4:15 a.m. where he allegedly took the keys to the clerk's black Cadillac SUV at gunpoint, then shot him. The clerk is in critical condition. A 9mm bullet casing was located at the scene.

Around 7:50 a.m. Wednesday, troopers attempted to stop a black Cadillac matching the description of the one stolen at the convenience store on I-70. It didn't stop, and just minutes later, troopers deployed spike strips. The driver, later determined to be Deaton, took an exit toward Wilson, Kansas.

Kansas Highway Patrol, not wanting the fleeing vehicle to reach the town, used "tactical vehicle intervention" to end the pursuit at 8 a.m. Authorities have not elaborated on what that means.

The chase ended in a fiery rollover crash, authorities said, and Deaton sustained minor injuries. He was taken into custody peacefully.

A Glock 9mm pistol was found in the vehicle, partially burned. Bailey said officials have executed warrants to search Robinson's apartment, Deaton's home and Deaton's truck, where they found other evidence tying him to the crimes.

On Wednesday, Robinson's family laid her to rest.

"Today is her funeral, at least they can have that funeral in peace because they were concerned about security for the funeral," Bailey said.

"The victims have families out there, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers," said Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher. "It’s over for this guy here, but it’s never over for the families."

Contact Therese Apel at 601-961-7236 or tapel@gannett.com . Follow her on Facebook and Twitter .