Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Unsolved murders of Alabama

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Charles R. "Dick" Salmon

Charles R. “Dick” Salmon, 72, of Auburn was found dead of a gunshot wound at the service station he owned and operated on Opelika Road in Auburn on July 22, 2005.

Officers went to Saco Service Station that morning to conduct a welfare check on Salmon.

Auburn police detectives believe the motive in the slaying was robbery.

Police continue to work leads in the case. A cash reward is offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Patricia Vickerstaff

Patricia Vickerstaff, 33, of Auburn was found fatally shot in her home located in the 1400 block of Lee Road 56 at around 1:55 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2004.

Anyone with information on this case or other unsolved homicides in Auburn are asked to call Auburn police at 334-501-3140 or the anonymous tip line at 334-246-1391.

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Jerome Brundage and Carol Oliver

An Auburn man and his girlfriend were found shot to death in their residence on Turks Willis Road on July 23, 2009.

The victims were identified as Jerome Maurice Brundage, 38, and his girlfriend, Carol Oliver, 42.

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Central Alabama Crime Stoppers

Melissa Slater

Melissa Slater, 18, had just finished getting her hair done when she was shot and killed on Audubon Road in Montgomery at around midnight on Jan. 10, 2013. She was shot by a drive-by shooter.

Montgomery police haven’t identified any suspects in the murder.

Her mother, Melinda Piatkowski, said Slater was talking to friends when she shot in the chest. Before Piakowski could get to the hospital, her daughter died.

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Shekrian Wilkerson

Shekrian Wilkerson, 32, of Montgomery, was fatally shot in the area of Davenport Drive and West South Boulevard. on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, Montgomery police say. She was found inside a vehicle dead of multiple gunshot wounds.

"A week prior to her murder, Ms. Wilkerson had learned that she was pregnant with twins," Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey said. "What her family wanted me to know about her is that she was a loving mother. That is what she did. She loved her children. She had five children. Now those children don't have their mother."

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Candice Fenton

Candice Fenton, a 19-year-old Auburn University student, was found dead in her off-campus Auburn apartment on July 18, 1995.

Her body was quickly decomposing. She was partially clothed, bound by a dog leash around her neck and her wrists, which were secured behind her back.

According to an autopsy report, Fenton died of asphyxia.

"We know it was a homicide," said Candice's mother, Frances. "It was definitely a homicide."

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Mary E. Rearden

Mary E. Rearden, 75, was found strangled and stabbed to death in her Second Avenue home in Opelika on Sept. 4, 2000.

Opelika police Lt. Johnathan Clifton said it appears Rearden was killed in a home invasion robbery. “There was a struggle,” he said.

Over the last few years, he said, this unsolved murder case has been reviewed with the assistance of the State Bureau of Investigation. They are working to get DNA evidence that could lead to a suspect.

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Mary Jean Vines

Mary Jean Vines, 34, was found dead in her Avenue D residence in Opelika on Oct. 23, 1983. Her throat was cut, Opelika police Lt. Johnathan Clifton said.

The motive behind the slaying is unknown, he said, though a struggle appeared to have taken place in the residence.

Several suspects were interviewed, but no one has ever been charged. “It has since gone cold,” Clifton said.

The case is periodically reviewed, and with the advancement of technology evidence has been sent for DNA testing.

Anyone with information on this homicide or other unsolved Opelika cases are asked to call 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness line at 334-745-8665.

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Juvenile Jane Doe

The skeletal remains of a black girl, between the age of 5 and 7, was found dumped near a creek on Hurst Street in Opelika on Jan. 28, 2012.

The girl had been dead for several months, Lt. Johnathan Clifton said. She has yet to be identified.

“We feel pretty confident she is not from this area,” he said. “Hopefully, with some of the DNA results that we do get, we will find out who the parents are.”

The Opelika Police Department expects to receive a facial reconstruction of the girl soon.

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley

Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley, both 17, were found shot to death in the trunk of Beasley's car in Ozark on Aug. 1, 1999, according to reports. The girls, both from Dothan, had traveled from Dothan to Midland City the night before to attend a party.

Apparently, the Hawlett and Beasley had gotten lost on their way home, but had received directions and were heading home when they disappeared.

The girls were last seen at a convenience store about a mile away from where they were found.

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Warren Kulo | wkulo@al.com

Ruthie Mae Jackson

Ruthie Mae Jackson, 72, was fatally stabbed at least a dozen times about her body and neck during the early morning hours of Easter Sunday, then April 7, 1996, in her Dothan home.

Robbery is a possible motive for the homicide, police said.

Dothan Police Lt. Will Glover said cases like Jackson’s are periodically reviewed to see if any evidence can be analyzed with more up to date technology.

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Dothan Police Sgt. Robert Jackson

Dothan police Sgt. Robert Jackson was shot to death as he got out of his car on Jan. 31, 1978.

Investigators believe he was murdered for taking drug dealers off the street. His killers, however, were never identified.

Jackson worked for the police department for nearly seven years. He was the nephew of Ruthie Mae Jackson, who was murdered years later.

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Dothan police

Perry Griffin

Perry Griffin, 37, was found shot to death outside Panhandle Converters on East Beverley Road in Dothan on June 26, 2007.

Griffin was a manager at the business and had arrived early that morning for a business trip.

Police say Griffin was shot in the commission of a robbery and died on scene.

While surveillance cameras captured the crime on video, no arrests were made in the case.

The video shows two suspects confront Griffin while he was locking the gate to the business preparing to leave. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash after shooting Griffin.

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Dothan police

Curley Cliatt

Curley Cliatt, 65, was found shot to death inside his apartment at 900 Hamilton St. in Dothan on June 27, 2008.

Police found Cliatt after friends hadn’t heard from him.

Cliatt had been shot multiple times during an apparent home invasion robbery. His home had been ransacked and items stolen.

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Dothan police

Grace Bridges Dedert

Grace Bridges Dedert, 69, was found murdered inside her furniture store located at 966 South Park Ave. in Dothan on March 17, 2010.

She was found in the office area of the business when a customer came in to shop.

Police say Dedert had been fatally shot during the commission of a robbery.

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Other unsolved murders

Hundreds of murders remain unsolved across Jefferson County

Nearly 2 dozen homicides committed in Huntsville area since 2010 remain unsolved

The unsolved murders of Gadsden

11 of Mobile's most notorious murder mysteries