17 y.o. suspected of killing 4 family members
Jen1orbit
Hello,
Interesting family murder case is developing in a small town called
Pelham, Alabama, some 15 miles south of Birmingham, Alabama. 4 people
members shot to death at home in their home. Police are investigating the
posibilty of it being a triple murder/suicide, but they are also
speculating that it was a quadruple murder, and that a 17 year old boy
might have been the killer.
Among the 4 dead are the 17 year old's father, the father's girlfriend,
and her two young daughters, aged 7 and 6. I can easily envision this 17
year old being angry and upset over his father shacking up with this
girlfriend, who brought along her two small daughters to live in the
house, and just deciding to slaughter them all. The 17 year old did live
in the house. Right now, no charges have been filed, but police are
questioning the 17 year old as I write these words.
I'll keep you folks updated, especially if the 17 year old is charged
with the 4 killings.
Below is an AP news wire report, plus a more detailed report from the
online edition of The Birmingham Herald-Post newspaper.
Take care, JOE
Courtesy of the Associated Press:
PELHAM, Ala. (AP) - A man, his girlfriend and her two young daughters were
found dead in their home, and police on Monday were questioning the man's
17-year-old son, police said.
Police received a 911 call Sunday night reporting a disturbance at the
home. A relative found the bodies. Police Chief Allen Wade did not
identify the person who made the 911 call or the relative who found the
bodies.
Police did not disclose the cause of death. A neighbor, Donna Lynn Murphy,
told the Birmingham Post-Herald that the woman's parents said all four had
been shot.
The boy, who was not identified, lives at the home and was questioned by
police. A relative of the children, Cheryl Robinson, said police were
questioning the boy along with several other people.
The victims were Randy Duke, 39, his live-in girlfriend, Dedra Mims Hunt,
29, and Ms. Hunt's daughters, Chelsea, 7, and Chelisa, 6.
Mrs. Robinson said the girls' father, Tommy Lee Hunt, ``just lost his
whole world. He just worshipped his girls.''
The girls lived with their father and the couple had joint custody, Mrs.
Robinson said. They visited their mother regularly.
Police were investigating the possibility of either a quadruple homicide
or a triple murder-suicide.
Pelham is about 16 miles south of Birmingham.
AP-NY-03-24-97
----------------------
Courtesy of The Birmingham Post-Herald, online edition:
Four dead in Pelham
By Lewis Kamb, John Staed
and William C. Singleton III
Birmingham Post-Herald
Seven-year-old Chelisa made the A-B honor roll. Her
6-year-old sister, Chelsea, just won an honor in the Easter pageant at
Thorsby School in Chilton
County.
``They were precious little girls,'' said Cheryl Robinson, a relative.
``They were so radiant. They
were just little angels.''
The bodies of the girls, along with their mother, Dedra Mims Hunt, 29, and
Randy G. Duke, 39,
were found at 2327 Chandawood Drive in the middle-class Chandalar
subdivision in Pelham.
Police discovered the bodies after receiving a 911 call from a man about 9
p.m. Sunday.
Chief Allan Wade would not release the cause of death, although a neighbor
said Ms. Hunt's
parents said the four victims had been shot.
Neighbors speculated it could have been a murder-suicide.
``We're not ruling out anything at this time, murder-suicide included,''
Wade said.
Investigators, however, are asking anoyone who noticed anything unusual
around Chandawood
Drive to contact Pelham police at 620-6550.
Gov. Fob James is also offering a $20,000 reward for the arrest and
conviction of the
perpetrator of the crime, Wade said.
Duke was a plumber with Mr. Rooter Plumbing Services. His half-brother,
Joe Dennis, said he
lived in Pelham about four years.
Ms. Hunt had been divorced about three years and the two girls visited
their mother at Duke's
house every other week, said Yvonne Price, an aunt of the two girls.
The girls were living with their father, Tommy Lee Hunt, in Thorsby, said
Phillip Davenport, who
was their bus driver and math and science teacher at the rural school.
``They were just as sweet at they could be,'' he said.
When they got on an off the bus, ``you'd hear about grades and this and
that,'' Davenport said today.
Chelsea was a second-grader, and was to turn 8 on April 9. Chelisa was a
kindergarten student.
The 700-student school, with grades kindergarten through 12, was stunned
with the news of the
girls' deaths, Davenport said.
``A lot of kids are depressed, hunting an answer for why, and as usual
there are no answers,''
Davenport said. ``It's going to be a rough day.''
Hunt and the girls' mother married shortly after high school, Davenport
said, but were divorced.
The girls' were spending a weekend with their mother.
``I had her (Mrs. Hunt) and their father in school,'' Davenport said.
``She was just a normal kid
growing up. There was nothing outstanding about either one of them.''
Davenport said the girls' deaths were the first murder of children he
could remember.
``We've had accidents where kids have been killed, but as far as
situations like this, I do not ever
remember one.''
Early this morning, curious neighbors drove by the home, where two sporty
pickup trucks, a car
and Duke's plumbing truck were parked.
Neighbors said the area is a quiet and safe place where families live.
Most said they did not know
the victims, even though the victims had lived at the residence for
several years.
``They kind of kept to themselves,'' said Donna Lynn Murphy, a neighbor
who lives across the
street. ``I don't even know their last names.``
Mrs. Murphy said she and her husband told police they had neither heard
nor seen anything
unusual before officers arrived.
Mrs. Murphy said that while neighbors crowded outside the house, the
parents of the woman
killed were brought to the scene.
``The lady's parents showed up and when the mother came out she said they
were all shot,'' Mrs.
Murphy said.
Most neighbors were shocked that a homicide could take place in their
neighborhood.
``I might sound like a little preppy kid from the suburbs but things don't
happen like this here,''
said neighbor Stacey Allison, 19. ``I've lived on Southside and people got
killed but not four
people in their own home.''
podu...@aol.com
>
> Among the 4 dead are the 17 year old's father, the father's girlfriend,
>and her two young daughters, aged 7 and 6. I can easily envision this 17
>year old being angry and upset over his father shacking up with this
>girlfriend, who brought along her two small daughters to live in the
>house, and just deciding to slaughter them all. The 17 year old did live
>in the house. Right now, no charges have been filed, but police are
>questioning the 17 year old as I write these words.
>
>
I live about 10 minutes from there, and the woman that works for me lives on the same street that the murders occured.....she was late to work yesterday because of all the news trucks on her street. She said the family was divorced....the father and his girl friend were killed along with the children. The 17 year old's mother lives in another town. My employee's kids said, he used to be in a gang where he lived before, he did drugs and has shot at a police car.....she was STUNNED when her children told her this, and also said they had gone over to play video games at his house with him....moreover she was stunned at how nonchalant her kids were in discussing this...That is what really scared her. She is coming in this morning so maybe I will hear more of the "inside" neighborhood stuff" will post then. Alice
Jen1orbit
>
> Among the 4 dead are the 17 year old's father, the father's girlfriend,
>and her two young daughters, aged 7 and 6. I can easily envision this 17
>year old being angry and upset over his father shacking up with this
>girlfriend, who brought along her two small daughters to live in the
>house, and just deciding to slaughter them all. The 17 year old did live
>in the house. Right now, no charges have been filed, but police are
>questioning the 17 year old as I write these words.
>
podu...@aol.com Wrote:
>>I live about 10 minutes from there, and the woman that works for me
>>lives on the same street that the murders occured.....she was late to
>>work yesterday because of all the news trucks on her street. She said
>>the family was divorced....the father and his girl friend were killed
>>along with the children. The 17 year old's mother lives in another
>>town. My employee's kids said, he used to be in a gang where he lived
>>before, he did drugs and has shot at a police car.....she was STUNNED
>>when her children told her this, and also said they had gone over to
>>play video games at his house with him....moreover she was stunned at
>>how nonchalant her kids were in discussing this...That is what really
>>scared her. She is coming in this morning so maybe I will hear more of
>>the "inside" neighborhood stuff" will post then. Alice
Hello Alice,
Thanks for the additional info. Please do post any new and interesting
details that you learn. One of the great things about Usenet is how people
close to a crime scene are able to learn info that does not make it onto
the national news wires, and then post the info for everyone to see and
enjoy/learn from.
Take care, JOE
Jen1orbit
Hello,
Here is an update on this case. Still no arrests, but we learn a few
more details, including the fact that the two little girls, aged 6 and 7,
had their throats cut, while the man and his girlfriend were shot.
Interesting. You would think that in a massacre type rampage, the killer
would either shoot all 4 of 'em to death, or stab 'em all to death, not do
this divided methodology of 2 stabbed to death & 2 shot to death.
The 17 year old son of the man who was shot to death is apparently still
a possible suspect, but police are still looking into the possibility that
it may have been a triple murder/suicide.
I'll keep monitoring the news for any major developments to this case.
Take care, JOE
The following article is from the 3/25 online edition of The Birmingham
Post/Herald Newspaper:
Child slayings shock
Hometown of Thorsby mourns loss of girls
By Amy Baldwin
Birmingham Post-Herald
Paula Calloway, a Thorsby School counselor, told classmates of 6-year-old
Chelisa Hunt,
who was killed on Sunday, that it's OK to cry.
When Mrs. Calloway entered Chelisa's classroom to talk to the children,
the kids already
knew what happened.
``Chelisa's dead. Something happened last night,'' one brown-haired girl
said.
Chelisa and her sister Chelsea Hunt, 7, their mom Dedra Mims Hunt, 29, and
her boyfriend
Randy G. Duke, 39, were killed Sunday night in Pelham.
Mrs. Calloway talked to the children who sat around her chair about their
feelings.
``It's OK for you to cry. It's OK for you to feel sad. It's OK for you to
feel a little angry too,''
she said.
Five counselors were on hand Monday at Thorsby School to comfort friends
and classmates
of Chelsea, a second-grader, and Chelisa, who was in kindergarten.
The girls lived in a yellow, ranch-style house at 106 Church St. in
Thorsby with their father
Tommy Lee Hunt.
One woman remembered seeing the girls and their father shopping in her
grocery store several
times a week.
``It was devastating especially with small children. They haven't had a
life yet,'' said Sharon
Mizzell, owner of Mizzells Super Saver.
``The little girls were sweet and he (the father) had all the patience in
the world,'' Mrs. Mizzell
said.
The people of Thorsby, a town of 1,600 in Chilton County, were shocked by
the deaths of
the young girls.
``No one knows what to say. The town doesn't know how to comprehend
something this
horrible,'' Thorsby Mayor Zane Martin said. ``We're in a state of shock.''
``I went to school with her (Dedra Mims Hunt). I have a child her kids'
age,'' said Susan
Thornton, who works at the Thorsby Service Mart. ``I thought that was so
sad. It gives me
chills.''
The store's meat cutter, Jerry Jackson, also knew the children and hardly
knew what to say
except:
``Whoever it was (who committed the crimes) didn't have a heart,'' he
said.
The bodies of the girls, along with their mother, and their mother's
boyfriend were found at
2327 Chandawood Drive in Pelham Sunday night.
The two young sisters were visiting their mother during the weekend.
Published reports indicated that one investigator had said that the two
girls had their throats
cut, while the man and woman were shot. No arrests have been made.
Police on Monday investigated Duke's house in Pelham and Hunt's house in
Thorsby. No
arrests have been made, said Pelham Sgt. Larry Palmer.
Police also talked with Duke's 17-year-old son, who lived with his father
in Pelham.
Police are investigating the possibility of a murder-suicide.
``We haven't ruled anything out,'' Thomas said.
Police discovered the bodies after receiving a 911 call from a man about 9
p.m. Sunday.
Investigators are asking anyone who noticed anything unusual around
Chandawood Drive to
contact Pelham police at 620-6550.
Gov. Fob James also is offering a $20,000 reward for the arrest and
conviction of the killer.
Miniya
jen1...@aol.com (Jen1orbit) writes: (I think it was Joe who wrote this;
if not, apology in advance ;>)
> Among the 4 dead are the 17 year old's father, the father's girlfriend,
>and her two young daughters, aged 7 and 6. I can easily envision this 17
>year old being angry and upset over his father shacking up with this
>girlfriend, who brought along her two small daughters to live in the
>house, and just deciding to slaughter them all. The 17 year old did live
>in the house. Right now, no charges have been filed, but police are
>questioning the 17 year old as I write these words.
***The news article said the woman's two young children were only
visiting; they lived with their father - not the 17 year old's father, who
was the boyfriend. If that's the case, then the 17 year old wouldn't have
any reason to get upset. And even if the kids did move in, to get that
upset that you would slaughter them is nuts. If the 17 year is the guilty
one, and killed them because he was mad at his father, then he definitely
has severe problems. And if he is proven guilty, with corroborating
evidence and/or a confession, then I'd say the dp would be a good
sentence. Hopefully, it will turn out that the 17 year old is not
involved. What a horrible tragedy for the 4 people killed.
Mary Ann
-Moment of inner freedom when the mind is opened and the infinite universe revealed and the soul is left to wander dazed and confus'd searching here and there for teachers and friends - James Douglas Morrison
Jen1orbit
Hello,
It is now official! 17 year old Mark Duke has been charged with the
quadruple homicide of his father, his father's girlfriend, and the
girlfriends' two small daughters, aged 6 and 7.
There is an unexpected twist however, a 19 year old friend of Mark's,
Michael Samra, has also been charged on the same capital murder charges.
So it looks like Mark had some help in committing this quadruple homicide.
I wonder who killed who? My guess would be that Mark, the 17 year old son,
killed his father and the girlfriend, shooting them to death, and while he
was busy doing that, his 19 year old friend Michael slashed the throats of
the two little girls. I could be way off in this opinion, there's been no
news report at all to suggest this, just a gut hunch that I've got within
my brillant mind.
Police however, say that MORE arrests are expected in the case, albeit
on lesser charges than murder. That sort of dilutes the entire event a
little bit, for me at least. The more people that are involved in a mass
killing, the less compelling the killing incident becomes. It's the LONE
slaughter sprees that really capture my fancy. No pun intended to the
person here at the newsgroup who uses a "fancy" screen name....
Take care, JOE
Here is the update, more to follow, if developments so warrant:
PELHAM, Ala. (Reuter) - A 17-year-old Alabama boy has been charged
with killing his father, his father's live-in girlfriend and the woman's
two young daughters, police said Wednesday.
Suspect Mark Duke has been in protective custody since he reported the
killings to police on Sunday night, they said. A friend, 19-year-old
Michael Brandon Samra, was also jailed with him on capital murder charges.
The pair were accused in the slaying of Randy Duke, 39; his girlfriend
Dedra Mims Hunt, 29; and Hunt's daughters Chelsea and Chelisa, aged 6 and
7. The four were killed Sunday night at their home in the Birmingham
suburb of Pelham.
Police would not say how the victims died but local media reports said
the adults had been shot in the head and the children's throats had been
slashed. No motive was disclosed.
Pelham Police Chief Allen Wade said the arrests stemmed from
information made by callers in response to a $20,000 reward offer. More
arrests were expected involving suspects in lesser but related crimes, he
added.
12:27 03-26-97
