Alabama judge decides on bond for suspects in Sweet 16 shooting

Balloons hang outside the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Dadeville, Ala. Two teenagers have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a shooting that killed four young people at a Sweet Sixteen birthday party, Alabama investigators announced Wednesday. (AP Photo/Kimberly Chandler)
Kimberly Chandler/AP

A judge on ordered the three adult suspects to be jailed without bond as they await trial on murder charges in connection with a deadly shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party that killed four in Alabama. District Judge Clayton Turner ordered 20-year-old Wilson Hill Jr., of Auburn; 20-year-old Johnny Brown, of Tuskegee; and 19-year-old Willie Brown Jr., also of Auburn, to be held without bond. Court records were not immediately available for the three juvenile defendants. The six are charged with four counts of reckless murder in connection with the April 15 shooting in Dadeville that killed four and injured 32 people.

During a Tuesday bond hearing, a state investigator described a bloody and chaotic crime scene in the aftermath of the shooting. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Special Agent Jess Thornton testified that 89 bullet casings were found and there was "blood everywhere" at the dance studio that hosted a teen's Sweet 16 birthday party.

Two Dadeville High School seniors, Phil Dowdell, 18, and Shaunkivia Nicole "KeKe" Smith, 17, were killed. Also killed were Marsiah Emmanuel "Siah" Collins, 19, and Corbin Holston, 23.

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Pat Duggins is news director for Alabama Public Radio.
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