1949 Birmingham homicides

This is a List of Birmingham homicides in 1949. It includes homicide cases occurring within the city limits during the calendar year. Note that not all homicides are ultimately ruled to be murder in courts of law.

Birmingham had ___ homicides in 1949.

Listing

• April 10: Phyllis Dean Carver, 9, was abducted outside the Ensley Theatre at 1923 Avenue E Ensley and found dead the next morning near a "Lovers' Lane" on the shore of Bayview Lake, with evidence of having been raped, stabbed and beaten. Joe Barton Fewell and Stanford Ellis Fewell, brothers and first cousins once-removed from the victim, were both charged with murder. Both were serving in the Korean War and had been home on leave at the time of the murder. Ellis Fewell confessed after 13 days of questioning, but later recanted. He was convicted in 1952 and sentenced to 30 years, but was released in 1959 after four witnesses were found to support his alibi. The charges against Joe Fewell were dismissed before trial. John Hamaker, a patient at Bryce Hospital, was said to have confessed to the crime in 1953, but was not prosecuted.

See also

• Birmingham homicides by year