Suspect in 88-year-old Scottsboro woman's slaying jailed in Marion County

Crime
Crime
photo Marion County, Tenn.

An Alabama man being sought in connection with a homicide in Scottsboro is jailed in Marion County, Tenn., on local charges as he awaits extradition across the state line.

Marion County authorities identified the man they are holding as 28-year-old Terrance Austin, of Hollywood, Ala., who is charged by police in Jasper, Tenn., with vandalism, arson, simple possession of a controlled substance and theft over $1,000, according to Marion County jail officials.

Austin also is being held in connection with the slaying of 88-year-old Ruby Durham, whose body was found by Scottsboro police on July 22 at her home on East Willow Street. Police were performing a welfare check. Durham's car was missing.

Scottsboro authorities could not be reached for comment Thursday, but they told WAAY television in Huntsville, Ala., that Durham's vehicle might have been a motive in the slaying and that her body had been sent to the state forensics lab for an autopsy.

Marion County Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett said Scottsboro officials notified his office of the pending murder charge on Wednesday. Burnett said Austin was taken to a Chattanooga mental health facility for an evaluation.

The chain of events leading to Austin's arrest and the discovery of Durham's body began a week ago.

At 11:30 a.m. CDT on July 21, Jasper, Tenn., police found a light blue Oldsmobile burning in the driveway of a home on Browder Switch Road. But officers didn't know who it belonged to, because identifying numbers on the car had been destroyed by the heat, according to Jasper Police Lt. Scott Evans.

Officers at the fire scene believed the car to be that of the homeowner who was out of town, so they decided to wait for the owner to return to complete that investigation.

"Then around 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, we responded to a call of a suspicious black male in the 300 block of Phillips Avenue looking into windows of a residence that he didn't belong at," Evans said. Witnesses told officers the man headed toward Betsy Pack Drive.

Jasper Police Chief Billy Mason, Evans and other officers located the man, soon identified as Austin, on West Second Street.

Evans said Austin told officers "that he wanted to die, that he needed to die, that he was ready to go see God. He told us he deserved to lose his life because he had taken a life in Scottsboro" and at one point Austin put his hands behind his back and "asked us to shoot him," Evans said. Austin voluntarily took officers to the burned car scene on Browder Switch Road and told them he set it on fire, Evans said.

But at this point, Durham's body hadn't been found and wouldn't be for another full day. Authorities say Scottsboro officials conducted a welfare check on July 22 at Durham's home and discovered her inside.

"On Saturday, July 23, the owner of the property on Browder Switch returned and told police that there was a car in his driveway that had burned and he didn't know who it belonged to," Evans said.

Tennessee Highway Patrol specialists examined the car, locating information that eventually led to Durham. THP then contacted Scottsboro authorities and learned Durham was the subject of a death investigation that began the day before with the discovery of her body, Evans said. That connection allegedly linked Austin to Durham's death, he said.

"We've been working with Scottsboro police on their investigation," Evans said.

Evans said a fugitive-from-justice warrant was being filed against Austin on Scottsboro's behalf. Austin remains jailed without bond.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com, at Twitter @BenBenton, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.

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