Update: Bones found near the relatives' house in 2003 were determined to be those of Mays in 2008. WebGUNTERSVILLE, Ala. Its been exactly five months since a triple murder shocked the quiet city of Guntersville. claims he repeated when the story aired on the show in February 1993. vanished from Guntersville onApril 13, 1986, was charged in the 1988 killings of two former neighbors and the shooting, serial child molester who pretended to be a police officer, Joe Harvey and Mattie Harvey vanished in Tennessee on March 5, 1991, was found guilty of murder in the 1997 slaying of his ex-wife, Marler, 12, vanished from Greenville on June 6, 1984, Marler's family remain vocal about the case, the story aired on a 1991 special episode, Jan. 31, 1990 episode of Unsolved Mysteries, with a 1998 abortion clinic bombing in Birmingham, Rudolph published an online autobiography, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Authorities later determined Marie had poisoned her husband with arsenic to get insurance money and tried to do the same to Carol. We understand that our franchisee who owns and operates this location is working with the local authorities in their investigation and has offered counseling services to all team members present. He was found guilty after just one hour of jury deliberations. Some parts 2023 Advameg, Inc. Crime rate in Guntersville, Alabama (AL): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map. Brown says he watched the community come together to help his friend through this time. Crime, My Chances of Becoming a Victim of a She disappeared overnight, leaving behind traces of blood on a window Web29-year-old Wesley Abernathy was charged with murder in 2021 after what police said was a bar fight led to the shooting. WebGUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Investigators with the Guntersville Police Department arrested and charged a woman for the murders that occurred at a Taco Bell in The case:Slagle was a former Samford University debate coach who fatally stabbed Rex Copeland, then a junior and top debater on the nationally ranked Samford team, on Sept. 21, 1989. NeighborhoodScout provides exclusive crime risk analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98% predictive accuracy. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Spencers trial will come after the State of Alabama in 2019 paid the maximum amount of damages allowed under law - $1 million total - to the families of Spencers three alleged murder victims. Jimmy Spencer is charged with capital murder in the slayings of three people in Guntersville. It was a case that shook every WebThe Guntersville crime map provides a detailed overview of all crimes in Guntersville as reported by the local law enforcement agency. The case: Delano, a single mother of two, disappeared from Maine on June 21, 1986after telling her children she was going to have lunch with a man she met through a newspaper personal ad. Kevon Williams, 24, is accused of killing 19-year She went to Florida, living under an assumedname and marryinga man in 1981. Hes convicted of capital murder in the deaths of a Guntersville couple in 2015. The case: Bowen was found guilty of murder in the 1997 slaying of his ex-wife, Brenda Breckenridge Bowen but disappeared before he was to be sentenced. It was then investigators say he took Martin's car which was later found at Publix. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The case: Hilley'sfirst husband died in 1975 after a sudden, unexplained illness. He was convicted of murder in 1990 and was sentenced to life in prison. Guntersville Police identified the two victims shot and killed in the shooting as 19-year-old Elias Gaspar Escobar Lopez, of She is being held in the Marshall The case: George, a veteran and survivalist,was charged in the 1988 killings of two former neighbors and the shootingof his estranged wife in Talladega, who was left paralyzed from the waist down. (The US average is 22.7) Guntersville A man accused of three Guntersville killings in 2018 has been found mentally competent to stand trial. She then left on a trip to attend to "family business" in 1982. He is now on Alabama's Death Row. Nearly 20 witnesses have been subpoenaed for the trial, court records show. Within Alabama, more than 97% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Guntersville. Select your ideal criteria and let Scout do the rest. After his escape, he was sought by federal authorities for stealing more than $190,000 in three bank robberies in Georgia, Florida and Michigan, during which he took hostages, used handguns and issued bomb threats. The 29-year-old was released on June 10, 2022. Copeland had performed poorly in a practice round, andSlagleconfronted him in his Inverness apartment. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Everybody was upset, so they all came together as a community, said Brown. WebShortly after the shooting, authorities say 20-year-old Zachary Chase Strickland went to the Guntersville Police Department and gave a statement confessing to the shooting. Other US patent applications are currently pending. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Crime. At some point, investigators say he went to Marie Kitchens Martin's home across the street and took money. Spencer traveled to Guntersville, where he had several run-ins with law enforcement and was charged for multiple violations of the law, from traffic offenses and possession of drug paraphernalia, to attempting to elude police, resisting arrest and illegal possession of a firearm. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. She disappeared overnight, leaving behind traces of blood on a window and others on a nightgown and boat found near the house the next morning. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. The story aired on one of the series' earliest episodes, one of the few hosted by Karl Malden. Property crimes that are tracked for this analysis are burglary, larceny over fifty dollars, motor vehicle theft, and arson. According to Guntersville Police, the two individuals were shot at the Taco Bell located on Gunter Avenue/Highway 431. The families of these victims are still mourning the loss of their loved ones, and the community is still shocked. Crime is ranked on a scale of 1 (low crime) to 100 (high crime) Guntersville violent crime is 33.8. Two scenes, one neighborhood. During the stop, deputies found marijuana. A Guntersville woman has been charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of two teenagers last year. Separately, it is always interesting and important to compare a city's crime rate with those of similarly sized communities - a fair comparison as larger cities tend to have more crime. It was higher than in 95.4% U.S. cities. The Guntersville Police Department said Abernathy and Alita got into an argument at Stillwater Bar & Grill. Webguntersville, ala.- A Guntersville man is dead and another is charged with murder after a fight on July 10 turned deadly. The show ran from 1987 through the early 2000s and later added new hosts, including Virginia Madsen and Dennis Farina, and began streaming on Amazon Prime earlier this year. In fact, your chance of getting your car stolen if you live in Guntersville is one in 168. Joseph Duane Alita, 28, of Albertville, The case: Marler, 12, vanished from Greenville on June 6, 1984when she went into town with her stepfather. The murders were also featured on America's Most Wanted. Heres everything you need to know about The Grinch sequel, plus the best books your kid can check out now. MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. A grand jury has indicted the man accused of killing two people at a Taco Bell in Guntersville. He was indicted for murder on April 30, 2021, and pleaded not guilty that September. The couple returned to Alabama. He died in prison in 2011. Although definitely not "unsolved," the story aired on a 1991 special episode of the series dedicated to "diabolical minds.". FBI Director William Session appeared on the show on Oct.24, 1990 to announce Stanton had beenadded to the 10 most wanted list. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. In Guntersville, your chance of becoming a victim of a property crime is one in 18, which is a rate of 55 per one thousand population. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 270.6. It was a pretty tragic incident. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. 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Coffee to open in Decatur, Bicyclist died at hospital after crash in Lauderdale, 4 arrested in Priceville for meth possession, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Guntersville is 247 to 1. Reliford - also killed by blunt force trauma - was found dead in her home across the street the same night. "Her disappearance had raised fears about the safety of meeting strangers through anonymous personal ads." The story appeared on a 2001 episode. That's 67.58% higher than the national rate of 366.7 per 100,000 people. Court documents filed on October 6 say Williams claimed he acted in self-defense. Update: In 2014, Rudolph published an online autobiography, drawing protests from prosecutors. Our thoughts are with the victims families during this difficult time. Taco Bell Corp. All rights reserved. All rights reserved (About Us). A Guntersville man faces murder charges in connection to a fight July 10 at the Guntersville American Legion. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. "My feeling is that (this case) would probably never have been solved if not for 'Unsolved Mysteries,'' Lt. Charles N. Love, of the Maine State Police, told UPI. Pyle took a plea deal and is serving a life sentence. Holland was still on the run when a segment on the case aired on Feb. 26, 1992. At the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival, you will find a palate-dazzling smorgasbord of cuisines and cocktails in which to indulge. His story was featured on a 1990 episode. 20.30% higher than the Alabama violent crime rate of 510.8 per 100,000 people. Update: The show reported the military reopened the investigation. The show aired an update on Nov. 16, 1988, stating she had staged an abduction to hide her suicide. Alita was shot multiple times in that parking lot, police said. WAFF is told the shooting stemmed from an argument, which resulted in one person shooting the two victims. Authorities said she suffered from a chemical imbalance and fell to her death. Heres everything you need to know about The Grinch sequel, plus the best books your kid can check out now. He is serving life in prison. Few other communities of this size have a crime rate as high as Guntersville. 18,000 local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. WebThe case: Mays, 27, vanished from Guntersville on April 13, 1986 as she spent the night with relatives. His arraignment court hearing was set for January 3, 2022. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. A segment on the disappearance aired onOct. 5, 1988. Yet he was granted parole on Nov. 2, 2017 and released to a homeless shelter in Birmingham, where he was supposed to remain for six months. WebGuntersville police responded to a shooting call in the 1800 block of Wiggs Street about 4:15 p.m. Sunday, finding Ellis, who was wounded. He served two years in prison. The case was ruled a suicide although it was reported his bloodstained MP cap was stuffed in his mouth; his handcuffs dangled from his left wrist; the lanyard cord from his holster was wrapped around his ankles, and his car radio cable was knotted around his neck. In addition, NeighborhoodScout found that a lot of the crime that takes place in Guntersville is property crime. Spencer is accused of killing three people in Everybodys kind of come together through this situation My buddy, everybody tried to look out for him and stuff. According to our news partners at the Advertiser-Gleam, a number of agencies were on the scene to assist Guntersville investigators. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The homicide remained unsolved for over a year. They maintain a Facebook pagein hopes of uncovering the truth about what happened. "Match Any Neighborhood" calculates the Match Level of one neighborhood to another using more than 200 characteristics of each neighborhood. The case:Postmaster Opal Johnson was abducted onOct. 30, 1987by two men who had asked to buy stamps. The case: Litchfield escapedthe federal prison in Talladega and was placed on the FBI Most Wanted list in January 1987. Court documents show Williams was pulled over by police due to improper lane usage on May 8. Kevon Williams, 24, is accused of killing 19-year-old Elias Gaspar Escobar Lopez and a 17-year-old on September 23 in the Taco Bell parking lot. Judge Tim Riley sided with the jury and sentenced Spencer to the death penalty. When he gave her money to get a drink, she was never seen again although there were unconfirmed reports of sightings. Following his conviction, the jury in his case unanimously recommended the death penalty after just 30 minutes of deliberation. Williams was scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 9, but court documents show he did not appear. They drove her miles from town, took her rings and locked her in a trunk. According to our research of Alabama and other state lists, there were 34 registered sex offenders living in Guntersville, Alabama as of March 01, 2023. Raw data sources: He was on the run for six months before surrendering and was featured on the television show ''America's Most Wanted'' and a Jan. 31, 1990 episode of Unsolved Mysteries. They believe he first met Martha Reliford as early as April and began friending people in the neighborhood. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. His .45-caliber service pistol, which had been fired twice, lay under his left shoulder. Discuss Guntersville, Alabama (AL) on our hugely popular Alabama forum. A Marshall County judge today decided that Jimmy ONeal Spencers WebThere were 602 crimes reported in Guntersville, Alabama in 2018, the most recent year crime data is available for the city. MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) The murder trial against a Fort Payne man began with jury selection on Monday, according to online court documents. Early release parolee arrested in Walker Co. The victims daughter is now demanding answers. Jon had been accused ofstealing $197,000 byforging and cashing acheck from his employer, Fillette Green Shipping Services of Mobile, before leaving the area. WebGUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Tickets for the 2023 Guntersville Lake HydroFest went on sale Wednesday morning. Crime risk data are updated annually. Just some crazy guy, said Brown, I dont even know what he got out of the situation, you know, it wasnt worth two lives, not by any means.. Update: He was arrested at Lake Tahoe on May 20, 1987. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. WebViolent offenses tracked included rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. The case: Jon ChristianMaggiodisappeared in 1999, along with his wife,MollyPerezMaggio, then 23. It was then he strangled and cut her and beat 7-year-old Colton Ryan Lee to death. Our nationwide meta-analysis overcomes the issues inherent in any crime database, including non-reporting and reporting errors. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 16. Property Crime Rates In Guntersville 550 Property Crimes 6,499.6 Property Crimes / 100k People 208.05% Above National Average In the deaths of two teenagers last year, then 23 neighborhood '' the... Analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98 % predictive accuracy in which indulge. 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