Campbell shooting case to go before grand jury

Published 11:33 am Tuesday, August 9, 2011

District Court Judge Rhonda Hardesty ruled Tuesday there is enough evidence to bring before a grand jury two cases involving Ann Campbell, who in June allegedly shot two of her sons, killing one.

Hardesty also denied a request to lower the bond amount for Campbell from a combined $350,000. Campbell has been held in Chilton County Jail since the shootings.

The only witness called in the preliminary hearing was Chilton County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Jeff Cobb, who was questioned about the scene of the shootings.

Cobb said when officers arrived, Campbell was seated on a sofa in her mobile home, about eight feet away from her son, Michael Campbell, who lay dying from three shots from a .22 bolt-action rifle.

Another of Campbell’s sons, Bailey Mays, was also shot but fled to a relative’s house on the same piece of property off County Road 69 in the Enterprise community.

According to Cobb’s testimony, Mays told officers he was asleep on the couch in the living room when he heard gunshots. He then saw Michael Campbell crawling down a hallway that led from a bedroom pleading with Ann Campbell not to shoot him again.

Cobb testified that Michael Campbell appeared to still be breathing when officers first arrived but that he was not responsive and died before he could be transported to a hospital.

After shooting Michael Campbell a third time, Ann Campbell started toward Mays and said, “We don’t have to live like this anymore.”

Mays tried to exit the residence but found the front door locked. He escaped out a back door and later realized he had been shot in the thigh.

The weapon believed to have been used in the shooting, along with a clip, was found in the residence after a search warrant had been obtained, Cobb said.

One of Ann Campbell’s court appointed attorneys, David Karn, objected to the presentation of Mays’ recollection of events, but Hardesty overruled the objection.

Cobb said test results still haven’t been received from forensics on evidence recovered at the scene, including the weapon and bloody clothing.

Ann Campbell, wearing a pink jail-issued jumpsuit and bound at the hands and feet, didn’t speak during the preliminary hearing, shaking her head only when Cobb told Deputy District Attorney C.J. Robinson that Cobb believed, considering the evidence, the shootings were intentional.

After being asked by Karn, Cobb said he was unaware that Ann Campbell was renting her trailer from a relative, and that she had been served an eviction notice two days prior to the shooting.

Hardesty ruled the case would go before a grand jury.

Karn, who represented Campbell along with Michael Askew, requested Campbell’s bond amount be lowered, based on her record of making previous court dates. Robinson disagreed, citing the severity of the crime.

Hardesty denied the request, leaving Campbell’s bond at $250,000 for the murder charge and $100,000 for the attempted murder charge.