List of homicides in 2012

This is a List of homicides in 2012, including homicide cases reported throughout the Birmingham District. At least 39 homicides have been reported in the area for the year to date. Note that a "homicide" refers to the cause of death as determined by a medical examiner, not to the crime of murder as charged by prosecutors and determined by plea or trial.

Etowah County

1. February 20: Savannah Hardin, 9, died of extreme dehydration after being forced to run for three hours as punishment for lying about eating a candy bar. Her step-mother and grandmother were charged with murder. (report)

Jefferson County

29, as of May 8

Bessemer

1. January 26: Horace Neil "Bo" Smith, 62, an employee at Torme's Associated Foods on 20th Street and 5th Avenue North, was shot and killed during a robbery. No arrest. The store is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. (report)
2. March 2: Michael Cummings, 47, a pedestrian, died in a hit-and-run at 9th Avenue and 33rd Street. Michael Anderson was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
3. March 2: Latosha Jenkins, a pedestrian, died in a hit-and-run at 9th Avenue and 33rd Street. Michael Anderson was arrested and charged with murder. (report)
4. March 4: Kenneth James Haver, 45, was found shot to death inside a home at 1702 8th Avenue Bessemer. A suspect has been taken into custody, but not yet charged.(report)

Birmingham

21 homicides. See List of Birmingham homicides in 2012 for details.

Forestdale

1. February 12: Edmund "Preacher" Reed, 34, was shot to death in his car in the parking lot of the Jet-Pep gas station on the 1000 block of Forestdale Boulevard. Derrick Wayne Murray was identified as a suspect and charged with capital murder, but remains at large. (report)

Irondale

1. March 18: Unnamed female victim, 50, was found shot to death in a house on the 500 block of LaSalle Street. No arrest. (report)

Unincorporated areas

1. April 16: Matthew Joshua Hale, 28, was found shot to death on the 4200 block of Sharon Church Road just north of Pinson. No arrest (report)

Lee County

1. January 28: Skeletal remains of a child were found at the Brook Haven Trailer Park in Opelika. The coroner ruled that the death was caused by homicide. No arrest. (report)
2. May 4: Tyrone Allen, 42, died of a stab wound to the chest suffered during a fight with his girlfriend. Sheneka Butler was charged with manslaughter. (report)

Shelby County

1. April 11: The body of Elaine Gentry, 64, was found in her Lexus RX 300 under 40 feet of water in the abandoned Shale Road Quarry near U.S. Highway 78 in Leeds. Investigators believe that foul play was involved and are investigating her death as a homicide. (report)
2. May 7: Marquavious Anderson, 20 and Linh Quyet, 20, were found dead from gunshot wounds in an apartment at the Lakes of Inverness near U. S. Highway 280. Investigators suspect a murder-suicide. A young child was found uninjured in the apartment. (report)

St Clair County

1. January 10: Stacey Owens Gamble, 48 and Alexander Gamble, 49, were found shot to death in their home in Odenville. Investigators suspect it was a murder-suicide. (report)

Tallapoosa County

1. May 5: Kimberley Waid was shot by her husband at their home on Oak Hill Drive in Alexander City. He telephoned police to confess, and was killed during the subsequent standoff. (report)
2. May 5: Charles Waid was shot by police in self-defense during a standoff after he reported shooting his wife. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident. (report)

Tuscaloosa County

1. March 31: An unnamed female, 7, was struck by a pickup truck while walking on the shoulder of 5th Street in Northport near Kentuck Park following the Tuscaloosa County Airshow. Danny Ray Smith, 64, was charged with vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, and two counts of first degree assault. (report)
2. April 12: The body of Grace Johnson, 50, missing since March 3, was found in an abandoned mobile home near Sanders Ferry Road. Investigators determined that she died from blunt force trauma and are investigating the death as a homicide. (http://blog.al.com/tuscaloosa/2012/04/body_found_in_abandoned_mobile_1.html report])