In the early morning hours of February 9, 2021, a passerby noticed flames and smoke emanating from a barn off Hutchinson Road in Bourbon County and alerted authorities. Firefighters responded to the scene around 5:30 a.m. and discovered a passenger car fully engulfed in flames inside the structure. After extinguishing the fire, they made a grim discovery: human remains inside the vehicle.
The Bourbon County Coroner was called to the scene, and the case was immediately investigated as a homicide. The remains were later identified as 38-year-old Lazarus Romell Parker, a male resident of Lexington.
The investigation into Parker's death revealed a story of a dispute that ended in violence. Detectives determined that the events leading to the fire began at a residence on Dakota Street in Lexington. An argument broke out between Parker and another man, Cecil T. Russell. During the confrontation, Parker allegedly fired a warning shot at Russell, who was said to be hiding in a bathroom. After Parker's gun reportedly jammed, he was shot and killed inside the residence. Following the shooting, Parker's body was placed in a car and driven to the barn in Bourbon County, where the vehicle was set on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.
In March 2021, the investigation led to the arrest of 36-year-old Cecil T. Russell, who was charged with murder and evidence tampering. Two other individuals present at the house on the night of the shooting, Autumn Owens and Martae Shanks, were also implicated. They faced multiple charges including complicity to abuse a corpse, complicity to arson, and drug trafficking. Russell maintained his innocence regarding the murder charge, with his defense attorneys pointing the finger at Owens and Shanks, who later married.
Over two years later, in December 2023, Cecil Thomas Russell stood trial. The prosecution presented evidence and testimony suggesting Russell was the shooter, while the defense argued that Owens and Shanks were the culpable parties who had accepted plea deals in exchange for their testimony against Russell. After deliberations, the jury found Russell not guilty of murder. He was, however, convicted of complicity to abuse a corpse, complicity to arson, evidence tampering, and criminal mischief for his role in the events that followed Parker's death.
