Patterson met Aldridge through her daughter, with whom he was partying.  The defendant went to Aldridge’s house in order to rob her so he could purchase drugs.  The victim, however, had little money, and Patterson became angry.  Patterson raped Aldridge and then stabbed her with a kitchen knife three times in the abdomen.  He claimed that he wanted to kill the victim in order to minimize the evidence against him.  After Patterson departed, Aldridge was able to call the police and then she  attempted to reach her son through a telephone operator.  The call was not successful because Aldridge was using the incorrect phone number.  While Aldridge was attempting to call for a second time, Patterson returned and fatally stabbed her fourteen times.  Patterson claimed that he had consumed one liter of alcohol and one-eighth of an ounce of cocaine on the night of the killing.  The defendant said that while fleeing the crime scene he was temporarily in view of the police but he escaped in his car parked nearby. 

 Patterson became a suspect in the Aldridge murder in March 1999, when DNA evidence taken from the crime scene was matched to Patterson’s blood.  State law required blood samples of convicted felons.  Patterson pleaded guilty against the recommendation of his attorney.  Even Patterson’s fervent religiosity could not convince him that he deserved to live.  Prince George County Circuit Judge James F. D’Alton Jr. said that he granted Patterson’s request for the death sentence because of the vileness of the crime and the threat that Patterson would commit future offenses.  At sentencing, Patterson told Judge D’Alton, “I pray today that it will be some type of closure for these families.” 

 Patterson entered death row on June 15, 2000 and was executed on March 14, 2002.