CENTERVILLE, Ala. -- The cousin of a man accused of abducting his estranged girlfriend and killing her sister was arrested for allegedly helping the man flee, authorities said Thursday.
Bibb County District Attorney Michael Jackson said Gary Wade Rowland, 45, of Centreville, faced a charge of being an accomplice to his cousin, 60-year-old John Barry Hubbard.
Hubbard was arrested late Wednesday in Greene County following a manhunt that began nearly 60 miles away in the Bibb County community of Eoline. Authorities say he abducted estranged girlfriend Tammy Carpenter on Tuesday and fatally shot her sister, Kandi Murphy.
State officers busted down the door of a motel room to free Carpenter and arrest Hubbard.
Rowland allegedly took Hubbard and Carpenter to the motel and put a room in his name, Jackson said.
Jackson said Carpenter wasn't hurt, but further details about her condition aren't available.
Hubbard is being charged with capital murder and kidnapping. He made an initial court appearance in Bibb County on Thursday and will be held without bond.
Court records were not available to show whether Hubbard or Rowland had defense laywers.
The Tuscaloosa News reported that Jim Ransom, an attorney representing Carpenter in an unrelated matter, said he spoke to her just an hour and a half before the shooting of Murphy and the abduction.
"She was scared of him, they were both scared of him," said Ransom.
Carpenter told Ransom that her ex-boyfriend had come to her home late Monday and used a logging machine to damage vehicles parked outside. She filed a police report about it before Hubbard showed up at the house, Ransom said.
Court documents show Carpenter went to court seeking a restraining order against Hubbard in May, but a judge dismissed the request after she failed to attend a hearing. Ransom said Carpenter was not notified of the court date.
Hubbard's father was executed for murder 11 years ago, Jackson said. James Barney Hubbard was put to death by lethal injection on Aug. 5, 2004, for a killing that occurred in Tuscaloosa County in 1977, prison records show.