ADAMSVILLE —
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest in the case of a body that was found in the 2200 block of Shady Grove Road near Adamsville on Saturday. The suspect is the victim’s cousin.
Jesse Lee Boyd, 28, of Adamsville, was arrested on charges of murder and theft of property first degree.
Deputies said Boyd reported finding the body of Charles Erskin Smothers, 40, of Adamsville, about 25 feet from the road. He told deputies he had been out looking for the victim as a favor to the victim’s mother.
The victim had been shot once in the head.
Inconsistencies in Boyd’s statement about discovering the body led sheriff’s detectives to suspect he may have been involved in the homicide, according to Chief Deputy Randy Christian of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
After investigating, detectives determined that Boyd had murdered smothers, Christian said.
Boyd denies any involvement in the murder.
The theft of property charge stems from Boyd reportedly stealing the victim’s truck and burning it to cover evidence, according to Christian. The truck was recovered on Woodruff Mill Road on Jan. 3.
The victim had reportedly been living in his truck near a bridge on Shady Grove Road.
A motive has not been established in the murder, but Christian said the victim filed a police report saying Boyd accused Smothers of stealing a gaming console and assaulted him on Dec. 30.
Boyd is being held in the Jefferson County Jail with no bond.
[Edited at 3:20 p.m. to clarify that the location where the body was found was on Shady Grove Road near Adamsville. There is a different Shady Grove Road that runs south from Fieldstown Road in Gardendale.]
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