On the evening of New Year’s Day, January 1, 2026, 29-year-old Jarryl Slaughter of Wadley, Alabama, was found in a parking lot on Parkway Court in Alexander City with a single gunshot wound. First responders arrived around 7:40 p.m.; Slaughter was taken to Russell Medical Center and pronounced deceased.

By January 5, 2026, two arrests had been made: 19-year-old Marcus Harden of Eclectic was charged with murder, and Roderick Hicks Jr. was arrested on a charge of hindering prosecution in the first degree in connection with the case. Slaughter was a father to a daughter and twin sons; his parents, brothers, and sisters survived him. Funeral services were held January 14, 2026, at Christian Memorial Church in Roanoke, Alabama, with burial at Burkes Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery in Wedowee.

What information do local residents or anyone who was in the Parkway Court area on January 1 have that could help clarify what happened that night?