Craigslist murder trial gets underway Monday

Published 9:06 pm Friday, June 10, 2016

Carl Brown will be tried next week in a Craiglist murder case that dates back to New Year’s Eve 2011.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday in Judge Marvin Wiggins’ courtroom.

“We’re proceeding forward with the case to bring the case to a resolution,” said District Attorney Michael Jackson.

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In January 2012, Brown, who was then 19, was charged in connection with the murder of Julius Collins Burnett, a 47-year-old man from Clanton.

Burnett was last seen Dec. 31, 2011, at an ATM in Clanton. The next day, property owners putting up a fence on Dallas County Road 47 discovered Burnett’s body.

Two days later, Brown was spotted driving Burnett’s vehicle and using Burnett’s credit cards.

Brown was arrested and charged with capital murder, first-degree theft of property and six counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.

According to 2012 newspaper reports, Burnett was shot twice in the head ,and Brown confessed to the shooting and disposing of the weapon in the Alabama River.

Jackson said the two men are believed to have met via Craigslist and that multiple factors have contributed to trial’s postponement.

“We’ve got a bunch of murder cases that we deal with every docket. That’s the first thing,” Jackson said.

Jackson said appeals by the defense has delayed the case.

Brown’s attorney, Bruce Maddox, declined to comment on the upcoming trial.