In the early hours of October 26, 2016, the life of 39-year-old Corey Dekel Merrida, a male, was tragically cut short. Deputies responded to a call of a person shot shortly after 1:00 a.m. in the 1800 block of Centerbrook Lane in Center Point, a suburb of Birmingham. Upon their arrival, they discovered Merrida suffering from multiple gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the homicide revealed a complex and unfortunate series of events.
Merrida had been staying at the apartment of a friend and had briefly stepped outside to retrieve something from a car. It was during this time that two armed men and a woman allegedly forced their way into the front of the apartment, searching for the man who resided there. When Merrida re-entered the apartment through the back door, he was shot. The three assailants then fled the area.
Authorities determined that the motive behind the home invasion was a belief that the primary tenant of the apartment had stolen money from one of the suspects. This suspect was later identified as 33-year-old Carlesha Denise Cox of Center Point. Cox was arrested on November 7, 2016, and charged with Merrida's murder. She was subsequently released on a $100,000 bond pending her trial. The two male suspects involved in the incident have not yet been identified, and law enforcement has asked for the public's assistance in the ongoing investigation.
