Amberly Barnett was found dead early Saturday following an overnight search for the missing 11-year-old in Mt. Vernon, Ala. (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department)
A suspect was charged in the strangulation death of an Alabama girl who was found dead Saturday after vanishing from her aunt’s home.
Christopher Madison, 33, is being held without bond on a capital murder charge after initial tests indicate that Amberly Barnett, 11, was strangled to death, Al.com reported. Her body was recovered in the woods of DeKalb County, about 200 yards behind the suspect’s house, the report said.
His arrest was announced at a press conference on Monday. He was initially arrested for alleged drug possession, but was charged with capital murder later, the report said. Barnett had been at her aunt’s house in northeast Alabama when she vanished about 6 p.m. Friday. Her mother, Jonie Barnett, said there was a dark-colored SUV spotted in the driveway that night.
“Her phone was left behind and my baby takes it everywhere. Nothing in her phone indicated she was planning to leave!” Jonie Barnett wrote in a social media post, AL.comreported. “Amberly is the type to not do anything that she will get in trouble for. She is so scared of anyone being mad at her or getting in trouble. She would not have ran away or make plans to go off somewhere.”
Police held a press conference on Monday but released few details and did not take questions from reporters.
"Due to the ongoing investigation, and in order not to jeopardize that investigation, I am not at liberty to disclose any additional information concerning this case," read a statement from Sheriff Nick Welden.
Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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