BAY MINETTE, Alabama — Three more people have been indicted in connection with a 2012 killing in Baldwin County, bringing to eight the total number of people now facing charges in the case, according to court records.
New charges filed years after the killing
The three newly indicted defendants, a 61-year-old man from Carrollton, a 55-year-old man from Theodore and a 41-year-old woman from Northport, each face a single charge of hindering prosecution in connection with the death of a 54-year-old Milton, Florida, man. All three are being held at the Baldwin County Corrections Center under $100,000 bonds.
A body found near the Styx River
The victim’s body was discovered in September 2012 near the Styx River off a rural stretch of Baldwin County road, days after he was shot inside a mobile home that authorities say served as a clubhouse for a Gulf Coast chapter of a motorcycle club. According to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting took place during a gathering held to mark the one-year anniversary of the club’s Tuscaloosa chapter.
A widening case
A 47-year-old Northport man has been charged with murder in the killing, while four other people, including two Baldwin County residents, have separately been charged with hindering prosecution. A Tuscaloosa man who was also arrested in connection with the case was later found dead at a Tuscaloosa County home this past June; investigators have said they do not suspect foul play in that death.
Case continues to develop
The string of indictments over the past two years shows how the investigation into the killing has continued to widen well beyond the initial shooting, drawing in associates from multiple counties across Alabama and into Florida. Baldwin County prosecutors have not indicated whether additional charges are expected as the case moves forward.
A rural stretch of county road becomes a crime scene
The area near the Styx River where the victim’s body was recovered sits along a sparsely populated stretch of county road that residents describe as quiet and rarely a site of major crime. The case has drawn attention throughout Baldwin County in part because of how long it has taken investigators to bring charges against everyone believed to have played a role, whether directly in the killing or in helping those involved evade responsibility afterward. Sheriff’s officials have said the case remains open as prosecutors continue building charges against anyone connected to the club’s activities that night.