List of homicides in 1987

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This is a List of homicides in 1987, including all such incidents occurring in the Birmingham area during the calendar year.

This list is incomplete and may never satisfy any subjective standard for completeness. You can help Bhamwiki by expanding it.

Cullman County

  • January 24: Patrick Joseph Cunningham, a clerk, was killed during a robbery at the Anderson Motel in Cullman. Doyle Lee Hamm was convicted and sentenced to death. In his appeals, it was noted that his defense failed to challenge the prosecutors' misleading reference to a previous conviction for armed robbery in Tennessee. It was also noted that the judge's 89-page opinion had apparently been written by the Attorney General's office. An appellate court found that while those issues were troubling, that no evidence of error had been introduced. An attempt to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court was not heard. Hamm's execution, scheduled for February 22, 2018, failed when technicians were unable to find a vein. The state subsequently settled litigation surrounding the case by agreeing not to seek another execution date. Hamm died from lymphoma in November 2021. (report)

Hale County

  • A 28-year-old woman was thrown off a bridge on the Greene County line. He boyfriend, Terry Ray "Tico" Snow, was suspected, but never charged due to lack of evidence.

Jefferson County

Bessemer

  • July 20: Emmett Ray Owens, 78, was found beaten to death in a ditch near a golf course. In March 2008, Antonio Ross was arrested by cold-case homicide detective Jody Jacobs. He was charged with capital murder on May 6. [1]

Birmingham

Talladega County

  • November 9: Linda Jean Offord, 39, was shot to death during a robbery at Joe Bob's Crystal Palace convenience store in Sylacauga where she was working the overnight shift. The prime suspect, Harvey Venn, made a deal to plead to a lesser charge in exchange for identifying his accomplice, the supposed shooter. William “Billy” Kuenzel was convicted of capital murder and given a death sentence. Kuenzel's attempt to appeal his conviction based on evidence withheld at trial was rejected due to missed filing deadlines. He died of cancer at the Holman Correctional Institution in Atmore, Escambia County, in 2022. (report)

Tuscaloosa County

References