Rick Ennis is now incarcerated in the Alabama prison system, serving life without the possibility of parole for the 2006 capital murder of Lori Ann Slesinski in Auburn. A Lee County jury convicted him in April 2022, and his state appeals ran out in early 2024.1Alabama Appellate Courts. Ennis v. State, CR-2022-0588
The Conviction That Put Him There
Derrill Richard “Rick” Ennis stood trial in Lee County beginning April 1, 2022. On April 14, after two days of deliberation, the jury found him guilty on two counts of capital murder: one for killing Slesinski during a burglary, the other during a kidnapping.2WTVM. Jury Finds Man Guilty of 2006 Murder of Auburn Woman
The verdict closed a case that had gone cold for more than a decade. Slesinski, 24, disappeared from her Auburn mobile home on June 10, 2006. Her car was found burning on a cul-de-sac four days later. Her body has never been recovered. Prosecutors indicted Ennis in August 2018 after a joint review by Auburn police, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Cold Case Unit, and the Lee County District Attorney’s Office; a task force arrested him days later at a home in Montgomery County, Virginia, where he had been living.3WSFA. Arrest Made in 2006 Auburn Cold Case Murder of Lori Ann Slesinski4WDBJ7. Man Arrested in Montgomery County After Ongoing Homicide Investigation Out of Alabama
Why He Is Serving Life Without Parole, Not Death
Capital murder in Alabama exposed Ennis to a possible death sentence. He is not on death row because Lori’s mother, Arlene Slesinski, asked the court not to pursue it. She told the judge she wanted to avoid the years of additional appeals that typically follow a death sentence and to make sure Ennis would never be released. The court agreed and imposed life in prison without the possibility of parole.5WTVM. Mother of Lori Slesinski Speaks Out After Sentencing Is Decided
How the Appeals Ended
Ennis directed his attorneys to appeal immediately after sentencing. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction by memorandum on September 15, 2023, and denied his application for rehearing the following month. He then petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court, which denied certiorari. On January 5, 2024, the Court of Criminal Appeals issued a certificate of judgment, making the conviction final at the state appellate level.1Alabama Appellate Courts. Ennis v. State, CR-2022-0588
With the state appeals exhausted and parole off the table by sentence, Ennis’s path out of prison through the ordinary appellate process has closed.
The 1993 Killings in His Background
The Slesinski murder was not Ennis’s first homicide conviction. On March 5, 1993, when he was 12 years old, he killed his mother, Linda “Dolly” Flowers, and his stepfather, Eddie Joe Flowers, at their home in Montgomery, Alabama. A contemporaneous report in the Montgomery Advertiser said he beat his mother with a baseball bat before shooting her and killed his stepfather with a 16-gauge shotgun.6WTVM. Family Reports Man Convicted of Murdering Lori Slesinski Killed His Mother, Stepdad in 1993
Alabama law at the time required a defendant to be at least 14 to be tried as an adult, so Ennis was handled in the juvenile system. He reportedly escaped twice during detention and was released when he turned 21, having served less than nine years. He moved to Auburn, took a job at a bowling alley, and befriended Slesinski before her 2006 disappearance.7WRBL. Man Who Murdered Auburn Woman Also Killed Mom, Stepfather as a Boy In a later interview with CBS’s 48 Hours, Ennis admitted the 1993 killings but claimed his mother had sexually abused him; the network said it could not corroborate that claim.8CBS News. Rick Ennis Murdered Parents, Lori Ann Slesinski Disappearance
The Legislative Push His Case Helped Fuel
The fact that Ennis walked free at 21 after killing two people drew renewed attention during the Slesinski sentencing. Family members of Eddie Flowers used the publicity to press Alabama lawmakers to lower the age at which juveniles can be tried as adults in murder cases.7WRBL. Man Who Murdered Auburn Woman Also Killed Mom, Stepfather as a Boy
In January 2026, the Alabama House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee approved HB 11, which would reduce the youthful offender threshold from 19 to 16 for defendants charged with murder or capital murder.9Alabama Reflector. Alabama House Committee Approves Bill Limiting Youthful Offender Status in Murder Cases The bill would not affect Ennis’s current sentence.
What Remains Unresolved
Lori Slesinski’s remains have never been found. At a 2022 ceremony recognizing the no-body prosecution, District Attorney Jessica Ventiere said, “We continue to pray that one day we’ll find Lori and lay her to rest properly.”10WTVM. Lee County District Attorney Receives National Recognition Ennis, who testified at trial that Slesinski left her home alive to make a drug deal, has not provided information leading to the recovery of her body.11Oxygen. Derrill Ennis Convicted in Lori Slesinski Murder