Joel Austin Whitus, 42, was shot and killed after a confrontation in the parking lot of a Marathon gas station on Highway 111 in the Slapout community of Elmore County on the night of Friday, February 13, 2026. Contemporary news reports described him as being from Millbrook while his obituary listed Deatsville. Whitus had been in a vehicle with two friends; Aaron Mays of Eclectic was a passenger in the neighboring car with his girlfriend. A brief verbal dispute occurred after Whitus walked past Mays’ vehicle and, according to Mays, touched or struck the car. Mays said he saw a handgun in Whitus’ waistband and then fired, striking Whitus in the chest. An autopsy found a single fatal gunshot wound to the chest and investigators recovered a 9mm handgun in a concealed holster on Whitus’ person.

Mays and his girlfriend left after the shooting but returned before deputies arrived; court filings say Mays later told an officer he had fired and made statements about being scared and worried that leaving would look bad. Officers arrested Mays and charged him with murder; another 9mm handgun was recovered from his vehicle. Funeral services for Whitus were held February 21 at First Pentecostal Church in Prattville. Does anyone have information about what happened in that parking lot that night?