MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. — A judge on Friday denied bond for 30-year-old Devin Kelly, who is now being held in Metro Jail on charges connected to a deadly shooting on Elm Circle earlier in the week.
“One of the charges is capital murder, which carries a possible death penalty or life without the possibility of parole,” Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said.
Kelly is accused of carrying out the Wednesday night shooting that killed 61-year-old Laurie Gilchrist, the grandmother of his children. Two others were seriously injured in the shooting, including the mother of Kelly’s children. Blackwood said the woman survived being shot multiple times, and that the couple’s children were present in the home when the shooting happened. “There was a relationship there that had deteriorated for some reason,” Blackwood said. He added that while the children were not physically injured, “they saw some pretty horrific things, so I wouldn’t say that they’re okay.”
Authorities said Kelly left Mobile County after the shooting and was located Thursday roughly 50 miles outside of Montgomery. “He was found in Greenville, and he was in a stolen car that he stole from one of the victims. There are going to be charges for that as well, but he was found in Greenville and transported back to Mobile,” Blackwood said.
Kelly faces several charges, including capital murder and two counts of attempted murder for the two surviving victims.
How Bond Can Be Denied in Alabama
Alabama’s Constitution has long allowed judges to deny bail in capital cases when the proof is evident or the presumption great. In 2022, voters approved Aniah’s Law, named for 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard, which expanded that authority to other violent felonies such as murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery. Under the law, prosecutors must request that a defendant be held without bond, and a judge decides the question after a hearing.
Capital murder in Alabama is punishable only by death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The case will next go before a Mobile County grand jury, which will decide whether to return an indictment. Kelly is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
