In the summer of 2017, the quiet community of North Courtland, Alabama, was unsettled by a grim discovery that marked the beginning of a long and arduous quest for justice. On the night of July 7th, James Lemark Madden, a 41-year-old male from Muscle Shoals, was found shot to death inside a residence on Rosa Parks Street. Alongside him, the homeowner, 34-year-old Jimmy Lee Bolding, was discovered deceased in the front yard, also a victim of gun violence.
The incident was quickly classified as a double homicide by the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office, who took the lead in the investigation. The news sent ripples of shock and grief through the area, particularly for the family of Madden, who was the brother of the town's former mayor, Ronald Jones.
The investigation into the dual slayings soon led to persons of interest. Lawrence County Sheriff's investigators arrested two men, 19-year-old Kevin Deshaunn Deloney Jr. of Decatur and 23-year-old Tamorris Oneil Bolding of Muscle Shoals. Both men were charged with two counts of capital murder and were held in the Lawrence County Jail without bond. Investigators stated that both Deloney and Bolding had been considered persons of interest early in the case, and that interviews and evidence had solidified them as strong suspects. At the time of the arrests, the sheriff's office indicated that the investigation was ongoing and that further arrests were anticipated, though details surrounding the motive for the killings were not released.
The legal process that followed the arrests was fraught with complexities and ultimately did not yield the convictions prosecutors had sought. In October 2017, the capital murder charges against Tamorris Oneil Bolding were dismissed after a judge determined in a preliminary hearing that there was not enough probable cause to hold him. Kevin Deshaunn Deloney Jr., however, remained incarcerated and his case was bound over to a grand jury. After years of legal proceedings, Deloney's first trial in February of 2024 ended in a hung jury. A subsequent trial took place, and in March 2025, a jury found Kevin Deloney Jr. not guilty on all counts related to the murders of James Lemark Madden and Jimmy Lee Bolding. After spending nearly eight years behind bars, Deloney was released from jail, leaving the case of the double homicide officially unresolved and without a conviction.
