Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Reports 22 Homicides In 2020

Tuscaloosa AL

14 January, 2021

12:21 PM

Description

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The multi-agency Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) says it investigated 22 homicides in 2020, which is up slightly from the previous year in the total number of cases, but substantially higher with respect to murders — 17 during this time compared to 10 in 2019. Conversely, the number of capital murder investigations was down from seven in 2019 to four in 2020. Click here to subscribe to our daily email newsletters and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices for free. You can also support local journalism by donating as little as $5 a month to become a supporting member or by downloading our free Patch mobile app. "We currently have no open cases for any of the homicide investigations that were referred to VCU from the past several years," said Captain Jack Kennedy, the commander of the unit. "All suspects have been arrested and charged, and their cases forwarded to the district attorney's office for prosecution. We are very proud of the excellent work that our investigators do, and continue to do, on a daily basis." The number of murders saw the most noticeable uptick. Of the murder charges brought against suspects, three were in cases involving the deaths of infants. The suspects in two of those cases were charged with capital murder, while another was charged with murder and aggravated child abuse. Kennedy pointed out to the public that the unit investigates deaths as a result of criminal acts, excluding traffic investigations, meaning there could be other homicide arrests during this time that were worked by municipal agencies within their city limits or by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). Here is a year-over-year breakdown of investigation totals: CRIME20202019Total homicides2221Murders1710Capital murders47Manslaughter02Justified (no charges)12Follow Patch here for updates or on Facebook and Twitter.