Rape at O'Neal Hall: A Cover Up or Just a Local Myth?

 

Amid the new accounts of sexual assault at the University of North Alabama, we’ll look back at a 1970s attack that may or may not have actually occurred. In that era, male and female students were routinely separated as far as living quarters; only certain males were allowed in sleeping areas, and those were almost always service workers. Did a delivery man make his way to an O’Neal Hall dorm room in the middle of the workday and proceed to rape one of the students?

At the center of the rape story was a Lauderdale County native that we’ll call Todd Hunter. Todd first came to the attention of local authorities when he was accused of following young females in his rattletrap car. A long time college student, Todd was familiar with many of the campus buildings and organizations. He seemingly managed to keep a low profile when in public, but when in private, his actions became more overtly sexual…and sinister.

Years later, Todd was diagnosed with a type of schizophrenia, but at the time, most females who came into contact with Hunter simply found him obnoxious and unnerving. Due to his part-time employment at local mini-marts, many young women did unfortunately come into contact with Todd, who described these girls as eager to be in his company, even after he married.

Yes, Todd managed to marry, father two children, and move up in the world of employment while seeming to control his dark side…for a time. In the late 1970s, this disturbed young man found work with a soft drink company, a job that took him to all parts of the college campus including the girls’ dorms. Some drink machines were located on upper floors, allowing Todd to move freely about the sleeping rooms and chat with any students who came into his orbit.

While the above information has been verified, the following has not. There were always reports of attacks at the university, but many were obviously exaggerations of pranks and never reported to proper authorities. Then students found an O’Neal resident distraught in her room. 

She allegedly told her friends that a soft drink delivery man, whose name she didn’t know, had forced his way past her as she entered her room and proceeded to rape her. It took days for the crime to be reported to UNA authorities, and was supposedly never reported to the Florence Police Department. In the interim, Todd continued to deliver soft drinks to the campus.

No arrests were ever made in the alleged rape. Todd Hunter soon lost his job at the local bottling company, but gossip about the rape continued for years. Todd’s wife ultimately left him, and he died three decades later in a controlled medical facility.

Did UNA attempt to cover up this sexual assault or was it just a local urban myth to make young women more aware of their surroundings on campus? O’Neal Hall was eventually torn down to make way for an addition to what is now the Guillot Center. While most students today probably have never heard of Todd, the women who had the misfortune to encounter him still remember him and say thanks that they didn’t become his victim.

Rape at Colbert Square

 

Located close to Sheffield High School, Colbert Square Apartments have been a fixture in north-central Sheffield since 1950. Over the years, as the desirability of the apartments decreased, crime began to do the opposite. After one particular notorious shooting in late 2008, a group of residents asked the city council to take steps to clean up the area, even if it meant razing the large complex.

Those who have resided in the low-rent units have described the apartments as small, smelly, smoke stained, and a home to vermin of various kinds. While these apartments hardly seem desirable in themselves, the rent (currently $285.00/month according to Apartment Finder) is a huge draw to those facing financial hardships for whatever reason.

Then in October 2013, a violent crime set the whole town's nerves on edge. From Shoalanda Speaks blogs:

Last Tuesday night a man visited the Colbert Square Apartments, a complex adjacent to Sheffield Junior High School, a complex that residents had reported on to the Sheffield City Council as far back as 2009. He knocked on three doors before he found a resident who opened the door to him. All three apartments belonged to women.

At the third apartment, the man asked for Debbie. When told there was no Debbie there, the African-American, said to be in his mid to late twenties, forced his way into the apartment and raped the 54 year-old tenant. The victim managed to strike the intruder with a heavy ashtray, leaving a large gash on his forehead.

As the rapist left the modest apartment where units rent from $250.00 to $285.00 a month (in red), he took his victim's cell phone and vehicle. Just six blocks away at the intersection of York Terrace and Almon Street (in blue), the intruder abandoned the Ford Taurus and presumably made his way from there on foot.

In early 2014, Colbert County authorities arrested Huntsville resident Tavares Terrell Garner. The then 28 year-old Garner had a record for Third Degree Burglary in Lawrence County and Third Degree Robbery in Colbert, resulting in two previous state incarcerations. 

In May 2014, Garner was brought to trial. He was convicted of First Degree Burglary, First Degree Robbery, and First Degree Rape. Due to his previous convictions, he was sentenced as a habitual offender and given three concurrent life sentences with a chance for parole.

Garner, now 40, is currently serving his sentences at the Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore. He will be eligible for parole consideration in January 2029 - fifteen years into his sentence. It's expected that the Colbert County District Attorney's Office will protest any move to release Garner.

The Unpunished Sex Crimes of Terry Landon Stidham

There's an old saying that a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich. Yet this isn't always true. Look at Tommy Wallis in Lauderdale who stalked his male victim for a week before attacking him, but whose case was no-billed. Tommy went on to big-time drug smuggling and a heinous attempt to kill his wife. He's now serving a life sentence in an Alabama state prison. Then there's Gerald Surratt Jr. who sexually assaulted a young woman in Sheffield, but was similarly no-billed by a Colbert grand jury. Surratt is now serving time in prison, not for his many alleged sex crimes, but for theft.

Now consider this case: A 19 year old man takes a 14 year old girl to a public park restroom where he videos several sex acts between them. He then forwards the video to some of his friends. When the child's family is made aware of the incident, the young man is arrested in Franklin County.

Was the girl a total innocent? Probably not. Was the 19 year old man, a college student, aware that what he was doing was wrong on so many levels? You have to believe that he was. Our guess is that he felt himself above the law as so many of our readers do.

Before you say that at least this Bible college star athlete finally got his comeuppance, you may want to hear the rest of the story.

Terry Landon Stidham first made the news just over three years ago:

From 10/3/18 Franklin County Times -





The article goes on to say that Stidham posted 200K bond at the time of his arrest. Since he was a resident of Marion County, we may assume the bond was in cash or its equivalent. Read: Stidham's family has money.

Were there more details to the story? Yes. From a 10/4/18 Pen-N-Sword article -

Terry Landon Stidham is a 19 year old graduate of Hamilton High School where he starred on the basketball court wearing jersey #4. At 6'3", Landon may not have been the tallest player on the team, but he caught the eye of a Welch College coach who boasted of recruiting him for the Free Will Baptist institution located in Gallatin, Tennessee.

Landon graduated in 2017, but it wasn't until June 2018 that the Welch coach tweeted the Hamilton youth would be joining his older brother at Welch. We may not know all that Landon accomplished during this gap year, but we do know that authorities in Russellville claim the scholar-athlete had a very interesting hobby.

Stidham's athletic skills also included tennis, and he is accused of participating in several felonious sex acts at the Russellville Tennis Complex. He is alleged to have met a 14 year old girl whom he took to the restrooms at the complex. There he encouraged the young teen to perform oral sex and to engage in intercourse while he videoed their illicit encounter.

Landon was apparently proud of his skill at photography, sending the video to several other underage girls. When Landon's victim became aware of the notoriety her liaison with Landon was receiving, she told her parents who reported the encounter to Russellville police.

Authorities obtained a warrant for Landon's mobile carrier, matching him to the number disseminating what is legally child pornography. When confronted by his actions, Landon refused to speak with investigators. He was arrested in late September and charged with Second Degree Rape, Second Degree Sodomy, and the Manufacture, Distribution, & Possession of Child Pornography.

Landon's family quickly posted 200K bond, and the former high school basketball standout remains free at this time. If convicted of the numerous sex charges, Terry Landon Stidham could face up to 20 years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. There's no word if Welch College has kept open a position as forward for Stidham or if they now find Landon just a little too forward for their Freewill Baptist college.

So how long did it take to indict and try Stidham for charges lodged almost 18 months before COVID slowed down the system? More to the point, why is this blog reporting on Stidham's alleged sexual antics three years later?

Never heard of the Ramp? Rest assured you are not alone. According to its website, the Ramp Church was founded in Hamilton, Alabama, and has branches in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Manchester, England. Its website has photos of generic teens/young adults who appear to be auditioning for a GAP magazine ad, rock bands, one-armed Hitler salutes, and two-armed stand and deliver gestures. In other words, it's very similar to the Church of the Highlands.

Here's a surprise - they also have a store where you can purchase everything from self-help books to mugs to apparel. An example of their cutting edge design tees:

The Ramp also has a school in Hamilton, a college of sorts. Its two-year program promises to equip today's youth to conquer the world with the gospel, at least the gospel according to the Ramp. The church and school appear to be non-denominational, probably with good reason. Who are its students and recent graduates?

One May graduate is known to us at the blog; he's Terry Landon Stidham. No, Stidham isn't in prison for his videoed sex crimes against a 14 year-old girl; he's now a Ramper grad doing Ramper things. How did this miscarriage of justice happen?

Indictments after an arrest can take months in many Alabama counties. This is especially true in Franklin County. It's easy to lose track of various crimes while assuming the cases are still floating around somewhere in the criminal justice system.

In Landon Stidham's case, it took 11 months for Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing to present the state's case against the 19 year-old Hamilton youth. With actual video of the crime, the indictment should have been a slam dunk, but strangely it wasn't.

Stidham's sex charges were no-billed. Why? Were palms crossed with silver or did the rural Franklin County jurors think the promiscuous 14 year-old girl got just what she deserved? Either way, the system failed. There was no "He said; she said." There was actual video of the sex acts taking place in a smelly public restroom. Apparently Landon didn't think his victim deserved even the back seat of a Buick.

Landon Stidham was a totally free man after September 2019, or roughly two years ago. Why is this news now?

Last week, a letter from a man purporting to be an employee of the Hamilton Journal Record began to make the rounds. It didn't take too much digging to ascertain that this "Shane" wasn't connected to the Marion County newspaper, but was actually Landon's father. The letter was asking that all negative reports about Landon's illegal sexcapades be removed from the Internet.

Why after two years is Landon's family now revealing to the press that the young man's case was dropped due to lack of an indictment? What has Landon been doing in the intervening years between his arrest and now?

In March 2019, months before the charges were dropped, Stidham coached for the Krossover Basketball Association in Cullman. He was billed as a former Welch Freewill Baptist College player at that time. Then at some point, he enrolled in the Ramp College in Hamilton where he spent two years before graduating last May.

Perhaps since this graduation, Terry Landon Stidham has found it difficult to secure a position in the real world. This would explain his family's nefarious attempt to have his record wiped clean of the videoed sex incident.

News flash: Sending out letters using false credentials is not the best way to establish any Christian credibility. Let's also go on record that we hope any young ladies who cross Stidham's path will have the common sense to give a hard pass on this sadly unpunished sex offender.

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Time for Murder in the Shoals?

 

Most of us have heard that the three motives for murder are Money, Love, and Power. We can't think of too many Shoals murders motivated by power struggles, but over the years there have certainly been a multitude fueled by money and even love.

In Shoals Crime, Murder in Muscle Shoals I & II, and Ron Wikkid, we've chronicled over 30 local murders, and have hardly scratched the surface of the ultimate crime. Looking at these various accounts, we've noticed that most occur in the Spring or Autumn, seasons with more moderate temperatures. 

We have to wonder if those in Northwest Alabama choose to plot their crimes in the hotter or colder months and then wait for moderate temps to carry them out? More likely, it's simply that in this area, more individuals are out and about during the Spring and Fall and, therefore, coming into more conflicts during these periods.

Nevertheless, you've been warned when to keep on your toes...

The most grisly murder the Shoals has ever seen?

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"Early Graves" - The Story of Teenage Killer Judith Neelley

 

A book review from a reader:

Early Graves by Thomas H. Cook is a riveting ride of gory crime, much of which takes place in nearby Ft. Payne. After lightly touching on the childhoods of Judith Ann Neelley and her husband Alvin, the book takes the reader from the couple's criminal crusade against a Georgia juvenile home through the murder/kidnapping convictions of the sinister pair.

The book was published in 1990, so it doesn't cover the death of Alvin in a Georgia prison 15 years later or Alabama governor Fob James' commutation of Judy's death sentence 20 years ago. What it does cover will leave you to decide if Alvin or Judy orchestrated the murders of two young woman and if justice was served in their cases.

You can order on Amazon: Early Graves

If you like your murders gory, be sure to read the tragic story of the Muscle Shoals murder of local waitress Amanda Taylor by the man who called himself Ron Wikkid.

Order on Amazon: Ron Wikkid

The Pulpit Abusers

 

It's in all churches, but at least one religious body is keeping up with the numbers. According to a study conducted by the Southern Baptist Church, between 1998 and 2019, approximately 380 ministers committed the crime/sin of sexually abusing a child or underage member of their congregations. That figure reflects known abuse; unreported crimes usually never come to light.

What about here in the Shoals? Looking at only Lauderdale and Colbert Counties, you'll find some high profile crimes against local youth. Here are five that garnered national attention:

Charles Kyle Adcock was a youth minister at Woodward Avenue Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals when he repeatedly raped a 14 year old girl. The now 38 year-old Adcock accepted a plea bargain and served 15 months. He is currently a registered sex offender residing in Conway, Arkansas.

Oliver Brazelle was a music minister at the First Methodist Church of Sheffield for many years. In 2015, Brazelle accepted a plea bargain in connection with the rape of a young teen boy at the minister's Lauderdale lake home. After serving only a matter of months, the disgraced minister was given compassionate leave and died at his home in 2016 at the age of 83.

Jeffrey Dale Eddie was a youth minister at Highland Park Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals. In 2014, "Brother Jeff" was charged with raping and sodomizing several young boys, as well as possession of child pornography. He accepted a plea agreement in which he was sentenced to 30 years. The now 49 year-old Eddie will not leave prison until February 2044.

Jeffery Dale Hunt is a former Florence minister arrested for producing child pornography in his North Florence home. His victims were the young daughters of women who had attended his church years before. The now 53 year-old Hunt accepted a plea deal and will not leave the Alabama prison system until May 2040.

John Thomas Martin was the pulpit minister at Lighthouse Baptist Church in 2019 when he suddenly confessed to his East Florence flock that he had been having sexual relations with a young boy in the congregation. At least three other youths then came forward to accuse the now 43 year-old Martin of sexually abusing them. As of publication, the outspoken anti-gay crusader is living in Elkmont, Alabama, awaiting trial in Lauderdale County.

Are there more? Almost certainly. While some may never be brought to justice, you can be certain that God knows.

From Crimsonsmommi to Murderess

 

From Huntsville crime writer Nick Ireland:

Online she called herself Crimsonsmommi. She loved her husband, her two kids, country living in Ardmore, and Crimson Tide football. As if you couldn't tell the latter from her avatar...well, that and the fact she named one of her daughters Crimson. The kid can always change it when she's older.

But before Ardmore, Tala Nicole Verley lived outside Huntsville, if you call working for a janitorial service living. She must have needed something to dull the pain of boredom and that something led to some free stays in Madison County's finest barred facility. Maybe that's why her loving hubby moved the family to Ardmore, Tennessee, in 2016.

Ever been to Ardmore? No? Then you've missed so very little. The funny thing about Ardmore is that it has a conjoined twin just across the state line in Alabama. Even stranger is that Ardmore, Tennessee, that bastion of provincial life, extends into two counties.

It was in the Giles County part of Ardmore that Tala lived with her husband of 11 years, James Eric Smith. We're calling him her husband since she called him that. He called her his wife. His obituary didn't even come close to mentioning Tala.

Yes, unfortunately Eric Smith is dead. Shot on the night of October 8, 2018, at the age of 28. Cops didn't have to go far to find who pulled the trigger. Tala was hysterical and her story meandering. It didn't help Tala's case when she showed up on social media announcing that she was trying to secure all electronic devices and wipe them clean. Say what? It took a few months, but the Giles County Sheriff arrested Tala in February 2019.

Detectives refused to say much about the case, only that they had one. Official charges were possession of meth, possession of a handgun used in a felony, evidence tampering, and second degree murder as they still call it in the Volunteer State. The Crimsonsmommi's bond was set at a cool quarter million, possibly because she was originally from Cali and had contacts there.

Tala managed to post bond and, due to COVID, keep her freedom for two years. They say all good things must end, as did Tala Nicole Verley's ability to stay out of jail. This week she was lucky enough to have her charges reduced to Negligent Homicide and found herself back in the Giles County nick.

Tala's now 29 and, if convicted looking at 5 years at least, maybe 20 if the judge doesn't take to her batting her baby browns at him. Let's hope they at least let her have a radio to listen to the Bama games.