Discussing the horrible triple killing that occurred in Pelham, Alabama, over 25 years ago still brings investigators to grief. On March 23, 1997, 16-year-old kid, Mark Duke, dialed 911 to report that his family had died when he returned home. Randy Duke, aged 39, his dad’s fiancée, Dedra Hunt, aged 29, and their two kids, Chelsea, aged 7, and Chelisa, aged 6, became the fatalities of the horrible crime that took place. Randy Duke was stabbed multiple times with so much power that the blade placed beside his corpse was broken. Dedra had already been gunned down with a bullet in her face and was discovered in an upper restroom. Her teeth were blown off by a gunshot and were discovered on a couch in the drawing-room. The two children’s necks were slit mercilessly.
The condo’s surfaces had been etched with markings linked with local gangs, according to authorities. Mark Duke was placed in federal care after his whole family was murdered. Initially in the inquiry, Tommy Hunt, Dedra’s former husband, and the kids’ dad was named as a suspect. Soon after the corpses were found, he rushed to the murder site. But his testimonies were verified by authorities, and he was no longer considered a suspect. The deceased family has murdered a minimum of 36 hours before they were uncovered, according to investigators. Bullet shells of various calibers were discovered at the site, leading authorities to believe there was more than one gunman.
A $20,000 prize was established the next morning after the corpses were discovered for information that would lead to a trial and imprisonment in the investigation. Mark Duke was identified as a disturbed and aggressive adolescent in a lot of these calls. Mark Duke had started his own gang with Samra, Collums, and Ellison, his friends. A caller mentioned Mark’s girlfriend, who had informed her friend that Mark claimed to have killed his family to her, brought the matter to light. The girlfriend then revealed everything Mark Duke had informed her and also how his friends were connected to the police. She was privy to information regarding the killings that had not yet been publicly revealed. The girlfriend agreed to put on a device and record Mark Duke’s buddies discussing the killings. These taped discussions provided cops with sufficient proof to bring in the suspects for questioning.
Samra informed investigators that Mark Duke and Randy Duke had a previous dispute regarding his pickup truck and that Mark had mentioned murdering his father. When Randy declined to just let Mark use his vehicle, emotions reached a boiling point. Mark promised Samra that there would be no eyewitnesses. The gang emblems on the walls were intended to mislead the cops. Ellison and Collums were charged with murder on March 26, 1997. Mark Duke and Samra were charged with manslaughter with the death penalty. Samra was prosecuted, found guilty, and sentenced to death in March 1998. Following that, Mark Duke was found guilty and given the death penalty.
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