In the small community of Phelan in Cullman County, Alabama, the life of Edwin Lee Wood, a 43-year-old Caucasian male, was cut short on the night of October 5, 2016. The Hanceville resident was at an apartment on County Road 625 when he was fatally shot. The Cullman County Sheriff's Office responded to a call about the shooting at approximately 9:30 p.m. and found Wood deceased at the scene.
His body was subsequently sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy to officially determine the cause of death.
The investigation into the shooting led to the swift identification of a suspect. Windell Joe Campbell, a 59-year-old man from Cullman, was taken into custody at the scene for questioning along with another individual. The following day, after an extensive investigation by deputies and investigators who worked through the night processing the crime scene and interviewing witnesses, Campbell was arrested and charged with the murder of Edwin Lee Wood. In addition to the murder charge, Campbell also faced charges of unlawful possession of marijuana, unlawful possession of prescription medicine, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. At the time of the arrest, the Cullman County Sheriff, Matt Gentry, stated that the incident was a direct result of the influence of drugs and alcohol. Campbell was subsequently held in the Cullman County Detention Center without bond.
The legal proceedings that followed took a significant turn. In December 2018, Campbell's defense attorneys, Johnny Berry and Brandon Little, argued a "stand your ground" motion for immunity, which was denied by Cullman County Circuit Judge Martha Williams, setting the stage for a jury trial. However, when the case went to trial, the jury reached a different conclusion. On Wednesday, December 12, 2018, a Cullman County jury found Windell Joe Campbell not guilty of the murder of Edwin Lee Wood. Following the acquittal, Campbell, who had been out on bond since shortly after his arrest, was a free man. His attorneys expressed their gratitude to the jury for their verdict.
