Murder charge dropped for Alabama man accused of killing mom

An Alabama judge has dropped a murder charge against a man accused of killing his mother, after key witnesses failed to show up for trial.

Posted: Sep 16, 2019 9:01 PM

Updated: Sep 16, 2019 9:04 PM

Posted By: Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama judge has dropped a murder charge against a man accused of killing his mother, after key witnesses failed to show up for trial
Al.com reports 22-year-old Jonathan Pitts was charged with murder in the 2016 death of Cheryl Harrell. Police accused Pitts of killing Harrell and burning her body after her charred remains were discovered in Birmingham.
Court records show Pitts' case was set for a Sept. 9 trial, but the prosecution was unable to proceed when state witnesses didn't show up. Jefferson County Judge Tracie Todd dropped the charges, though they could be reinstated if new or additional evidence is presented.
Pitts' attorney John Lentine maintains his client's innocence and says the case was dropped because prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to prove Pitts killed his mom.

Mississippi Coronavirus Cases

Data is updated nightly.

Cases: 268672

Reported Deaths: 5917

County	Cases	Deaths
DeSoto	17928	195
Hinds	17030	337
Harrison	14510	212
Rankin	11315	223
Jackson	11054	193
Lee	9109	147
Madison	8663	171
Jones	6853	120
Forrest	6260	125
Lauderdale	6161	196
Lowndes	5582	123
Lafayette	5269	101
Lamar	5087	65
Washington	4965	125
Bolivar	4164	110
Oktibbeha	4115	85
Panola	3898	81
Pontotoc	3804	60
Monroe	3727	111
Warren	3716	103
Marshall	3601	72
Union	3601	65
Pearl River	3527	106
Neshoba	3516	158
Leflore	3132	110
Lincoln	3083	89
Hancock	3009	63
Sunflower	2942	77
Tate	2818	62
Alcorn	2740	55
Pike	2729	84
Itawamba	2712	63
Scott	2640	55
Yazoo	2584	56
Prentiss	2554	54
Coahoma	2524	55
Copiah	2515	49
Tippah	2515	51
Simpson	2448	72
Leake	2389	67
Marion	2282	74
Covington	2248	73
Grenada	2246	73
Wayne	2163	36
Adams	2162	71
Winston	2082	71
George	2064	40
Newton	2014	47
Attala	1974	65
Tishomingo	1963	61
Chickasaw	1902	45
Jasper	1831	38
Holmes	1725	68
Clay	1686	37
Tallahatchie	1580	35
Stone	1536	25
Clarke	1487	62
Calhoun	1420	22
Smith	1319	26
Yalobusha	1249	35
Walthall	1154	38
Greene	1149	29
Noxubee	1145	26
Montgomery	1129	36
Lawrence	1079	17
Carroll	1069	22
Perry	1059	31
Amite	1027	27
Webster	980	24
Claiborne	901	25
Tunica	896	21
Jefferson Davis	893	30
Benton	869	23
Humphreys	856	25
Kemper	812	20
Quitman	716	9
Franklin	710	17
Choctaw	640	13
Wilkinson	601	25
Jefferson	573	21
Sharkey	457	17
Issaquena	161	6
Unassigned	0	0

Alabama Coronavirus Cases

Cases: 445909

Reported Deaths: 6896

County	Cases	Deaths
Jefferson	65189	1049
Mobile	32138	590
Madison	28596	223
Tuscaloosa	21703	276
Montgomery	20220	336
Shelby	19584	138
Baldwin	17496	216
Lee	13378	109
Morgan	12741	145
Etowah	12196	189
Calhoun	11626	228
Marshall	10513	126
Houston	9097	168
Limestone	8424	81
Cullman	8363	125
Elmore	8283	112
Lauderdale	7986	112
DeKalb	7935	112
St. Clair	7915	139
Talladega	6552	112
Walker	6068	184
Jackson	6056	49
Colbert	5601	94
Blount	5517	94
Autauga	5440	65
Coffee	4705	69
Dale	4151	86
Franklin	3781	50
Russell	3628	16
Chilton	3480	79
Covington	3446	81
Escambia	3422	44
Tallapoosa	3184	109
Dallas	3141	97
Chambers	3085	75
Clarke	3073	39
Pike	2677	35
Lawrence	2569	58
Marion	2557	63
Winston	2352	43
Bibb	2247	51
Geneva	2147	47
Marengo	2120	31
Pickens	2018	31
Barbour	1882	40
Hale	1874	44
Fayette	1812	30
Butler	1759	60
Cherokee	1674	33
Henry	1613	25
Monroe	1535	21
Randolph	1482	36
Washington	1440	27
Clay	1310	50
Crenshaw	1262	45
Macon	1243	37
Cleburne	1236	27
Lamar	1213	24
Lowndes	1176	36
Wilcox	1094	22
Bullock	1058	29
Perry	1005	18
Conecuh	982	22
Sumter	908	28
Greene	783	23
Coosa	646	19
Choctaw	522	24
Out of AL	0	0
Unassigned	0	0