On May 1, 2020, 11-year-old Troy Justice Ellis was fatally shot during a turkey hunt on his father’s land off Cedar Mountain Road in the Pinson area of eastern Jefferson County, Alabama. Troy, a fifth-grader from Trussville, was participating in a hunt organized for wounded veterans; his father, Obed Ellis, a high school football coach, was acting as a guide. Troy’s father was also injured in the incident.

The person who fired the shot was identified as Joshua Stewart Burks, a 35-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran and middle school teacher from Mobile who was participating in the hunt. Burks, who is an amputee, surrendered to authorities and was initially charged with reckless manslaughter. A grand jury later indicted him on capital murder of a person under the age of 14; that charge was eventually reduced back to reckless manslaughter before trial. Testimony at trial included emotional recollections from Troy’s father, and Burks was found guilty of reckless manslaughter. The Ellis family also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Burks and the group that sponsored the hunt, which was reportedly settled out of court.

What information might local hunters, neighbors, or anyone who knew the event provide that could shed more light on how this hunting program was run and what happened that day?