Marion chase suspect faces capital murder charges in deadly Alabama crime spree

Huntsville police release shocking details of kidnapping, shooting

When Warren Hardy allegedly gunned down a 72-year-old Huntsville, Ala., woman at her home Friday, he had already kidnapped his ex-girlfriend's daughter and stepfather and forced them to drive to the neighborhood where the killing occurred, police said.

Huntsville police officials said, during interviews done at the Marion County Jail on Sunday, Hardy confessed to the crime spree that left 72-year-old Kathleen Lundy dead of gunshot wounds.

Hardy faces an extradition hearing today before Marion County, Tenn., General Sessions Court Judge Mark Raines.

Huntsville police have leveled capital murder and other felony charges related to the incident against him, said Huntsville Police Department spokesman Stacy Bates.

The crime spree began at the 27-year-old ex-girlfriend's home on Bailey Cove Road, about a 30-minute drive from the scene of the Friday afternoon shooting on Morland Pointe, a small, gated community in West Huntsville.

"Hardy kidnapped his ex-girlfriend's daughter and stepfather from her Bailey Cove Road apartment and forced them to drive to a home on Morland Pointe in an effort to locate the ex-girlfriend," Bates said.

When the trio reached the Morland Pointe home, "Hardy forced his ex-girlfriend into the car at gunpoint, but before Hardy could get back in the car the stepfather was able to drive away," Bates said.

Then, "Hardy started walking down the street where he encountered [Lundy], who was exiting the front door of her residence," Bates said. "Hardy demanded her car keys and shot her before driving away in her car."

Hardy managed to catch up to his fleeing ex-girlfriend and her family and fired multiple shots in their vehicle before they got away uninjured, Bates said.

Lundy's car was found later Friday in an area close to the ex-girlfriend's home, Bates said. Police believe Hardy got back into his own car at that point and fled the area, crossing the state line at some point over the weekend.

Investigators knew Hardy's ex-girlfriend had family in the Jasper, Tenn., area and alerted Marion County authorities. Hardy was spotted by a neighbor of a family member who alerted police in Marion, Bates said.

Hardy ended up in a pursuit with city and county officers in Marion County, starting near Jasper and ending in a crash in Kimball, according to Marion County Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett. Burnett said Hardy brandished a .45-caliber handgun and, at times, aimed it at officers, but no shots were fired. The magazine in Hardy's weapon apparently fell out when he crashed, Burnett said.

In Tennessee, Hardy faces charges of theft of property, reckless endangerment, unlawful possession of a weapon and evading arrest.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.

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