Ronald Perryman

Ronald Perryman 

June 5th 1976

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Ronald Perryman had just transferred from the University of North Alabama, where he was chosen to be the school mascot, to the University of Alabama in hopes of obtaining his Sociology Degree. Towards the end of May 1976, Ronald drove the two and half hours to his family home. When he arrived, he was informed by a neighbor that hey had taken a vacation; during the conversation, Ronald informed the neighbor that he had taken a gun into his possession but that he was not fond of guns. Ronald then drove the two and half hours back to his apartment on Reed Street in Tuscaloosa. On Tuesday, June 1st 1976, Ronald told some friends that he was planning to go bar hopping, that would be the last time anyone heard from him. 

On June 5th 1976, tenants in the Reed Streets Apartments notice a foul odor coming from Ronald's apartment; upon investigating they discovered Ronald's body. The police were immediately called to the scene; Ronald had been shot once in the face and once in the chest. Homosexual slurs were written on the walls in Ronald's own blood. Once the police announced that Ronald was gay, there was very little media attention after that. 

During the autopsy, it was discovered that Ronald most likely died on either the 2nd or 3rd of June. At the beginning of the investigation, police had two prime suspects but neither one of them panned out. One of the suspects was a longtime friend of Ronald's from when they first began college; they even lived together at one point. Although Ronald's family was unaware that he was gay, they had always wondered if he was in fact in a relationship with his college friend. A couple of days before his murder Ronald and his college friend were in an altercation over Ronald inviting another man into their home; the college friend promptly moved out, and now more than 30 years later his friend denies ever having known him. 

Ronald had his life cut short, he was only 26 years old, he had his entire life ahead of him. Was Ronald targeted for being gay? Was it a lover's quarrel gone wrong? Why was there very little media coverage of his murder? It has been 40 years since his death, police are still looking for leads, if you have any information, please contact the Tuscaloosa Police Department at 205-752-0616.