Carl Millard Patton Jr. (born 1949) was an American serial killer who committed five murders across Georgia from 1973 to 1977 with multiple accomplices.

[3] Minutes after his arrest, Norma Patton told the officers that she was willing to testify against her husband in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

[6] The couple then dragged the bodies out of the house and placed them in a van, after which Norma washed off the blood from the crime scene and destroyed other incriminating evidence.

[6] The victims' bodies were then wrapped up in sleeping bags and dumped into the Flint River, where they were discovered several days later.

[1] After disposing of the bodies, Norma said that she cleaned the van, while Carl burned several pieces of bloodstained furniture and other items in their backyard.

The couple were questioned about the Cleveland-Evans murders in late 1977 and Carl was even considered a suspect after bloodstains matching Evans' blood were found in the trunk of his car, but he was not charged due to a lack of evidence.

[7] Patton's first trial began in early March 2003 in Clayton County, where he was charged with the murders of Fred Wyatt and Betty Jo Ephlin.

Serving as the prosecution's key witness, Norma Patton claimed that Carl had been hired to kill Fred by the man's common-law wife, Marie Jackson Wyatt, who had taken out a life insurance policy on him.

[11] During the proceedings, Patton stated that Marie approached him with the offer of killing Richard in early 1973, claiming that he had been abusive to her.

[12] The trial took a strange turn when Gladys Elaine Jackson, the victim's daughter, took the stand and thanked Patton for killing her father, much to the surprise of those present.