Robert Sylvester Alston, born on May 19, 1969, in Greensboro, North Carolina, grew up as part of a stable yet modest family.
Despite his family’s reputation as respectable community members, Alston’s life took a dark turn, leading him to commit a series of brutal crimes from 1991 to 1993. Known for targeting vulnerable young women—primarily struggling with addiction or working as prostitutes—Alston’s horrifying acts left a trail of fear and devastation in Greensboro. His gruesome killings, marked by dismemberment and the subsequent scattering of remains, culminated in his capture in 1994. Convicted of at least four murders, Alston is serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Early Life and Isolation
Alston grew up in a seemingly ordinary environment, raised by his father, Jack, a school custodian, and his mother, Dorothy, a factory worker. He attended Grimsley High School, where he struggled socially and had no close friends. Though physically capable and somewhat athletic, Alston chose not to engage in social or extracurricular activities, focusing only minimally on his participation in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). After his high school graduation in 1987, he briefly attended a junior college in Georgia before dropping out.
In 1989, he entered a relationship that resulted in the birth of his first son. The couple had a second child two years later, but conflict and dissatisfaction led Alston to abandon his family and return to Greensboro, where he took up a string of low-skilled jobs. By the time of his arrest, he was employed as a dishwasher, keeping to himself and avoiding emotional connections, even with his own parents.
A Calculated Killer Emerges
Alston’s killing spree began in April 1991, targeting young black women with a pattern that combined sexual assault, strangulation, and dismemberment. His first known victim was JoAnne Robinson, a 23-year-old prostitute struggling with addiction. After her murder, he dumped her body near his home. Over the next two years, Alston continued to prey on similar victims, using his dark blue Pontiac to lure them in before carrying out his brutal attacks.
In October 1991, he claimed his second victim, 26-year-old Sharon Martin, whose remains were discovered near a local school after Alston dismembered and scattered them. His third confirmed murder occurred in spring 1992, when the decapitated body of 19-year-old Shameca Warren was found in a vacant lot. Alston’s last confirmed victim was 41-year-old Lois Elizabeth Williams, a former newspaper manager who had fallen into addiction; her body was discovered at Piedmont National Cemetery in December 1993.
The Survivor and Alston’s Arrest
Alston’s reign of terror might have continued if not for his encounter with a 29-year-old hitchhiker in January 1994. After picking her up, Alston attacked her, beating, raping, and attempting to strangle her. He ultimately threw her off a bridge, believing she was dead, but she survived and provided police with a description. This critical lead enabled investigators to create a facial composite and zero in on Alston, whose residence was near the dump sites of his previous victims. On January 28, 1994, Alston was apprehended and later positively identified as the hitchhiker’s assailant. During questioning, he confessed to the murder of Lois Williams, sealing his fate.
Confessions and Discovery of Remains
After his conviction for the Williams murder in 1994, Alston initially denied involvement in the other killings. However, over the next few years, he gradually admitted to additional murders, confessing in 1996 to killing JoAnne Robinson and, later, in 1997 to the murders of Sharon Martin and Shameca Warren. Despite his confessions, Alston refused to reveal details about the disposal of his victims’ remains, leaving it to police to rely on tips from an anonymous caller—likely Alston himself—to locate some of the bodies.
In 1998, Alston pleaded guilty to all charges, receiving multiple life sentences without parole. During his sentencing, he shocked the court with his lack of remorse, smiling as he described his crimes. When asked to disclose the location of Warren’s remains by both the judge and her grieving mother, Alston coldly refused, stating that “Only me and God will have those answers.”
Following his sentencing, Alston was also identified as a suspect in the unsolved murders of two other Greensboro women, Bernice Denise Robinson and Cheryl Lynn Mason, whose deaths bore striking similarities to his confirmed killings. However, with no definitive evidence linking him to these additional crimes, Alston was never charged for these cases.
A Chilling Reminder
The horrific acts of Robert Sylvester Alston continue to cast a shadow over Greensboro, a city scarred by his calculated cruelty. His story underscores the deeply unsettling reality of a killer hidden within an ordinary community. While his confessions provided some measure of closure, Alston’s refusal to disclose all details of his crimes leaves many questions unanswered, his victims’ families haunted by a tragic loss and a life stolen without remorse. Alston’s case stands as a grim reminder of the darkness that can hide behind a seemingly mundane exterior, a legacy of terror that Greensboro will not soon forget.
