On October 21, 2019, Thomas Tom DeWille, 76, was killed in a violent attack at a home in the Prospect Mountain area of Cullman County, Alabama. DeWille was at the residence of his friend, 75-year-old Rollan Frank Edwards, when all three men present were assaulted with both gunfire and knives. DeWille was pronounced dead at the scene; Edwards later died at a hospital. The third victim, 48-year-old Jody Jay Tudor, identified in the text as DeWille’s husband, survived but was critically injured.

Authorities said the attack grew out of a longstanding dispute among people who knew each other. Investigators named 30-year-old neighbor Matthew LeWayne Clayton as the suspect; Clayton fled, was captured after a vehicle crash, and was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Clayton attempted suicide in custody on October 25 and died from his injuries on October 29, 2019, bringing the criminal case to an end and leaving the community with many unanswered questions.

If anyone knew Tom DeWille or has information about tensions in the Prospect Mountain neighborhood before October 21, 2019, please come forward.