Fairhope Murder

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By Debbie Williams Reporter

M50o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr Fairhope Murder

Published: Mon, March 10, 2008 - 3:18 pm
Last Updated: Monday, March 10, 2008 - 5:25 pm

Debbie Williams

For the first time in two years, Fairhope Police are investigating a murder. It happened over the weekend in the Barnwell Community. Last seen late Saturday, Police say a friend discovered the body
For the last 25 years, Barnwell has been home for Richard Ward. During those years, he's watched it change. "It's gotten a lot worse in the last few years It's not the old time country like it used to be."
The latest change, a murder. "We just heard that someone got killed we didn't know how or what we just heard someone got killed," says Ward.
It happened across the street and behind Creative Iron Works on U.S. Highway 98. "One of our citizens went to visit a friend that lived in a boat behind one of the businesses in the Barnwell community. When the friend arrived he saw the victim laying on the floor of the cabin of the boat," says Fairhope Police Sgt. Craig Sawyer.
Investigators say he had been stabbed several times and at this point that's about all they know. "Investigators are still trying to develop a motive and suspect information. Right now we don't know the motive we just know that he was murdered inside the boat," says Sawyer.
Folks in the Barnwell and Fairhope communities are in shock saying this kind of thing doesn't happen here and in fact it hasn't happened here since 2005.
"It sounds like big time uptown, big city we don't have this very often very strange, very strange," says Ward.
The victim had lived here for about a year, a transplant from Florida. His murder brings more change to Barnwell, the kind Ward doesn't want. "Really have to watch a lot more you can't leave your barn open you can't leave things outside anymore," says Ward.
No one at the business would talk to News Five on camera but described the victim as a good man with a family.
Anyone with information is asked to call Fairhope Police at 251-928-2385.

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