BREAKING: Abandoned car in Hayneville linked to Tuscaloosa County homicides

January 8, 2023

Kay Norred,

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WVUA 23 News has confirmed that a white sedan was found abandoned on CR 26 in Hayneville. Hayneville Police Chief Kelvin Mitchell said a white sedan was located near the Dollar General on Highway 21 Sunday morning around 10. Hayneville police said they traced the tag number of the vehicle and know who the car is registered to. He would not say if they had a suspect in custody. Chief Mitchell did confirm that the abandoned car is the same vehicle the Tuscaloosa County Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) was searching for in connection to two “suspicious” homicides in Fosters early Sunday morning. VCU investigators also confirmed that there is no suspect in custody at this time.

In a news conference Sunday afternoon, Capt. Jack Kennedy of VCU said several calls came into the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) around 6:15 a.m. reporting suspicious activity along Interstate 59 near Fosters. One of those calls was from a tractor trailer driver who said he believed he struck someone on the interstate. When deputies arrived they found a man dead in the northbound lanes of the interstate at mile marker 62. Capt. Kennedy said the truck driver is a witness and not a suspect.

Just 30 minutes later another call was placed to the sheriff’s office reporting a man laying on the side of Frog Ridge Road near Gainesville Road in Fosters. When officers arrived they found a man’s body, dead, on the side of the road. That’s when VCU was called to investigate.

Both locations are less than five miles away from each other. VCU calls both deaths “suspicious” and is investigating as if the two deaths are connected.

“There was evidence found at the scene and some other things that led us to believe that this was not an accident, that this was a criminal act. Right now we are operating under the assumption that these are both homicides,” said Capt. Kennedy, Commander of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit (VCU).

At this time, VCU has not released the identity of the victims and has not said how the two men may have died.

“We have some active leads that I am not able to divulge. Because of that we do not believe there is any threat to the community right now,” said Kennedy.

The northbound lanes of Interstate 59, between mile markers 52 and 62, were closed for 13 hours while troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division investigated the scene along the interstate. The northbound lanes have since reopened.

VCU has met with several witnesses and are hoping there are more people who may have seen something. Capt. Kennedy asks that if anyone has information about either scene or may have seen a white sedan near the areas, please call VCU at (205) 464-8690.

Stay with WVUA 23 for updates on this breaking story.