Grand jury indicts Green on murder charge
The Franklin County man accused of murdering his girlfriend in January was recently indicted by the November grand jury.
Jason Dewayne Green, 36, 325 Oak Hills Drive, Russellville, was indicted on charges of murder, second-degree possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said.
Green was officially charged with murder on Feb. 1 after the shooting death of his girlfriend, 27-year-old Shay Nicole Ledlow, on Jan. 30.
During Green’s preliminary hearing in April, Franklin County Sheriff’s Department investigator Sgt. Greg Pinkard said officers from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the Russellville Police Department responded to a call that someone had been shot at 325 Oak Hills Drive about 10 p.m. on Jan. 30.
According to the 911 tape played at the preliminary hearing, Green originally told the 911 dispatcher that Ledlow’s wound was self-inflicted after the dispatcher asked him if she had shot herself.
Green admitted to the dispatcher that both he and Ledlow had been drinking and when the dispatcher asked if they had also been arguing, Green eventually said they had. He said he had dared Ledlow to shoot herself and that she had.
Even though Green claimed Ledlow shot herself, investigators at the scene noticed several things that didn’t seem to corroborate Green’s story, including texts from Ledlow sent to her mother earlier that evening stating she was worried Green would hurt her, the trajectory of the bullet, and the positioning of Ledlow’s body and the hand that was holding the gun when they found her.
“The location of the gun in the victim’s hand made it look like she shot herself on the ground, but during the investigation we learned she was standing by the front door,” ABI Cpl. Rodney Knight said during the hearing.
“The size of the gun would also make it difficult from the recoil [for the gun] to land perfectly in the victim’s hand on the ground.”
The evidence collected was enough for officers to charge Green with murder.
Rushing said Green’s case would be set for arraignment on Jan. 4.
