On the evening of Sunday, June 1, 2025, 58-year-old Oscar Lee Eiland of Opelika was shot at his residence in the 100 block of Lee Road 685 in Beulah. Deputies arrived after a 7:18 p.m. 9-1-1 call and found Eiland with what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds to his pelvic and groin area. He received CPR at the scene, was taken by ambulance to East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, and was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m. His body was scheduled for a postmortem examination at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

While deputies secured the scene they located 58-year-old Christopher James Espey Futral of Opelika hiding behind a fence; he called out that he was putting his gun down and surrendered. Investigators recovered a .243 caliber bolt-action hunting rifle and several spent shell casings from Futral’s yard and say the shooting came from a perched position about 75 yards away. Futral admitted to the shooting, said he had missed his intended target, and was arrested and charged with murder; he was held in the Lee County Detention Center with no bond pending an Aniah’s Law hearing.

If anyone in the Beulah or Opelika area saw activity near Lee Road 685 that night or has information about Eiland or the events leading up to the shooting, please come forward.