List of homicides in 1979
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This is a List of homicides in 1979. 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.
Jefferson County
Bessemer
- May 2: Bessemer Police Lieutenant Clifford Hill, 48, was killed by a letter bomb sent to Bessemer City Hall. Thomas B. Fullman, a former police officer, was charged with capital murder, mayhem, and assault. The first trial before Judge Dan Roberts resulted in a hung jury. He was acquitted at his second trial. Fullman brought a lawsuit against several officials involved in his prosecution, but the suit was dismissed. No one else was ever charged. (report)
Birmingham
- 93 homicides (list)
Vestavia Hills
- September 2: Gary Clyde Warnken, 24, son of Birmingham FBI agent Lloyd Warnken was shot to death in the parking lot of the Vestavia TraveLodge motel following an altercation at the Constantine's Lounge. Rudy Cannon was arrested and charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty by reason of self-defense, but was convicted at trial in May 1980 and sentenced to life in prison.
Shelby County
- November 19: The body of Larry Osborne, 20, reported missing from work at the Western Supermarket in the [[Mountain Brook Shopping Center], was found tied to a tree with blunt force wounds to the head in a wooded area off Shelby County Road 25. Steve Smith was arrested and charged with 1st degree murder. (report)