5 days ago
Falkville double homicide suspect found competent to stand trial
May 30—A man charged in a 2023 double homicide in Falkville was ruled mentally competent to stand trial Wednesday in a Morgan County courtroom, though a trial date has not been set.
Joshua Lamar Knighten, 38, appeared in Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott's courtroom with his attorneys James Burney and Brian White. He is charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of attempted murder.
Elliott in August had issued an order for Knighten to have a mental exam at the request of the defendant.
At Knighten's preliminary hearing in 2023, Morgan County sheriff's Investigator Caleb Brooks testified that during a forensic interview Knighten admitted he had not been able to afford his prescribed medication and reported that he "heard voices in his head."
Knighten has been incarcerated in the Morgan County Jail without bond since his Feb. 5, 2023, arrest. On that date, deputies responded to a 911 call at a Falkville residence located at 53 SE Goodwin Road. When they arrived, they found Knighten lying on the ground and telling them he "did not mean to."
"How many lives did I end tonight?" Knighten asked Morgan County sheriff's Cpl. Jacob Raburn as he was placed in a patrol vehicle, according to an affidavit by Brooks.
Deputies found the body of Mitchell Ray Beard, 62, of Falkville, who Knighten had shot multiple times while Beard was inside his vehicle, according to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office. Another man was found inside the residence with multiple gunshot wounds. Another man was found inside the residence with multiple gunshot wounds. He was identified as 36-year-old Marcus Ken Reed, Beard's stepson.
The Sheriff's Office said Reed was transported to Huntsville Hospital but died from his wounds two days later.
Knighten also allegedly shot Sarah Conley, who left the scene before deputies arrived. She later showed up at the Falkville Police Department with several gunshot wounds.
Investigators recovered a 9mm Glock-19 on the driveway and a Springfield XDM Elite 9mm pistol inside Knighten's residence. Both firearms have been listed by the Sheriff's Office as the murder weapons.
According to the affidavit, Knighten made a 911 call and told dispatchers if no one at the residence would tell him who had been stealing from his uncle, "that they was ready to die."
Two other people may have been present at the scene of the shootings. Harald Hommers, a Georgia resident, said shortly after the shooting that Reed's fiancée and her young daughter were also there during the incident.
"My daughter and my granddaughter were luckily able to take cover and not be shot, but (the suspect) was shooting actively at them," Hommers said at the time.
Authorities have not provided details about these other individuals, but Morgan County sheriff's spokesman Mike Swafford said other people were present.
Knighten pleaded not guilty to all charges on Feb. 6, 2023.
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