Gravine Island teens indicted on murder charges

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (WALA) - TEENAGERS CHARGED WITH MURDER

A Baldwin County grand jury indicted three Baldwin County 18-year-olds for felony murder charges stemming from the April shooting death of Summer Moody on Gravine Island, officials said on Wednesday, November 28.

Baldwin County officials said Scott Byrd and Dylan Tyree, both of Stapleton, and Daniel Parnell, of Bay Minette, face first, second and third-degree burglary charges, along with murder, in the Gravine Island case.

“Essentially but for the actions of these young men that night, Summer Moody would still be alive,” Dixon said. 

Separate burglary and assault charges are still pending against Byrd and Tyree, who are accused of operating a burglary ring in the North Baldwin area.

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GRAVINE ISLAND TRAGEDY 

Dixon said since Moody’s death occurred during the commission of a crime, and the teenagers can be held responsible for her death even though they didn’t fire the shot. 

“The purpose of it is to deter criminal activity, such as burglaries, which are inherently dangerous; as well as to hold them accountable when a person participates in actions such as this,” Dixon told us.

An investigator said three men were staying at a nearby fish camp when they heard a burglary going on at a fish camp owned by a man named Russell Beasley.

The investigator said the three men decided to go over and take a look. The investigator said the men had been told by the Alabama Marine Police that if a crime were to occur on Gravine Island, they should take it into their own hands.

Authorities said two of the men fired warning shots. One of those shots hit 17-year-old Moody in the side of the head.

Moody passed away Thursday, April 26.

Dixon said William "Nick" Hearn, Lonnie Davison, and Larry Dean Duncan, Jr. would not be charged in the shooting.

Investigator Eric Winberg said, “They turned and fired away. Therefore, there was no reasonable explanation that there was someone else hiding in the bushes.”

UP NEXT FOR THE TEENS

All three of the teenagers are being held on a $250,000 bond. Their initial appearance before a judge is scheduled for Friday, November 30.