Corinna Dell Novis, a 20-year-old woman, was tragically murdered on November 7, 1986, in Fontana, San Bernardino County, California. Originally from Gooding, Idaho, she had moved to Redlands, California earlier that year to pursue her future. Her life was cut short when she became a victim of a notorious crime spree carried out by James Marlow and Cynthia Coffman, a couple who were later convicted of multiple murders.
On the day of her disappearance, Corinna was abducted from a local
mall. Her remains were discovered several days later in a shallow grave. The investigation into her murder revealed that Marlow and Coffman had been responsible for her death, along with other violent crimes. The couple had met in May 1986, shortly after Marlow was released from prison. Their relationship quickly escalated, and by late July, they were married in Tennessee. They eventually moved to California, where they embarked on a series of brutal crimes.
Following Corinna's murder, law enforcement launched an extensive investigation. On November 11, 1986, her checkbook was found discarded in a dumpster, along with documents bearing the names of Marlow and Coffman. This discovery led authorities to track the couple to a lodge in Big Bear City, California. A large search party was organized, and the fugitives were eventually apprehended while attempting to flee through the mountains, wearing stolen clothing.
In 1989, Marlow and Coffman were convicted of Corinna Novis's murder and sentenced to death in San Bernardino, California. Coffman became the first woman in the state to receive a death sentence since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1977. The couple was later also convicted of the murder of another victim, Lynel Murray. Both remain on death row for their crimes.
Corinna's murder was part of a larger pattern of violence perpetrated by Marlow and Coffman, whose actions shocked the nation. Their case remains a grim reminder of the dangers posed by serial offenders and the devastating impact of violent crime on victims and their families.
