John Kevin Farley was a decorated U.S. Army National Guard veteran who had served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Purple Heart for his service. The 49-year-old White male lived in the small community of Tuscumbia, Alabama, where a long-standing dispute with a neighbor would ultimately turn fatal.
On the afternoon of Sunday, May 26, 2024, the conflict escalated. Around 2:50 p.m. on Foster Nolen Road, Farley and his neighbor, Jerry Wayne Fisher, had an altercation.
According to police, Farley had gone onto Fisher’s property when the confrontation occurred, and Fisher shot him twice with a shotgun. Farley was being transported to Athens Hospital but succumbed to his injuries on the way.
Authorities arrested 72-year-old Jerry Wayne Fisher in connection with the shooting. He was initially charged with manslaughter. The two men had been involved in an ongoing dispute over their property line and had previously filed police reports against each other.
As the case proceeded, it was presented to a Colbert County grand jury. In August 2024, after reviewing the evidence, the grand jury upgraded the charge against Fisher from manslaughter to murder. His defense has indicated that he acted in self-defense. Later, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment, adding a second charge against Fisher: illegally possessing a shotgun after a prior conviction that prohibited him from having a firearm.
Fisher was released on bond with an electronic ankle monitor to await trial on the charges of murder and illegal firearm possession. His trial was postponed earlier in the year. As of late 2024, the case was proceeding through the Colbert County court system.
