Lexington man not guilty of murder in 2021 shooting, convicted on other charges
After three hours of deliberations, a jury returned a not-guilty verdict for a man charged with murder surrounding the death of a Lexington man whose burned body was found in the trunk of a car in 2021.
Cecil Thomas Russell, 39, stood trial this week on charges of murder, complicity to abuse a corpse, complicity to commit arson, evidence tampering and criminal mischief after the body of Lazarus Parker was found by firefighters in the trunk of a burning car inside a barn in Bourbon County more than two years ago, according to Kentucky State Police.
The jury did convict Russell of the remaining charges, including complicity to abuse a corpse, complicity to arson, evidence tampering and criminal mischief, according to Daniel Whitley, Russell’s attorney. The jury was in the sentencing phase of proceedings Thursday evening to determine how long Russell would spend in prison.
Investigation revealed Parker was shot at a Lexington residence before his body was taken to the barn out-of-county and set on fire.
Deliberations came after closing arguments, which started Thursday morning.
During those closing arguments, Whitley said the government and two other suspects in the case — Martae Shanks, 36, and 30-year-old Autumn Owens — were aiming to point the finger at his client who he asserted is not-guilty of all charges.
“(Shanks and Owens) are going to try and point the finger at my client and they have done that successfully and they have done it with the help of your government,” Whitley said during closing statements Thursday.
Shanks and Owens, who are now married, testified against Russell Wednesday. Both of them faced charges too, though they weren’t charged with murder. They were accused of complicity to abuse a corpse, complicity to arson, criminal mischief and drug charges. They’ve both taken plea deals in exchange for testimony at Russell’s trial.
Whitley said the two other suspects were “bought and paid for,” discrediting their statements given to the jury. Autumn Owens, who now has the last name Shanks, admitted she was under the influence of cocaine when she gave her statement to police.
“The state wants you to put a man in prison on the testimony of someone who gave her statement high on cocaine,” Whitley said. “Can we really trust a husband and wife who have nothing to lose but getting away with murder or dealing drugs in our community?”
During testimony this week, the couple recounted the events of Feb. 9, 2021, the date of the shooting. They said Russell and Parker were arguing in their home on Dakota Street when Parker fired a gun twice. Russell allegedly hid in the bathroom and cried out for help. Martae and Autumn Shanks say Russell came out and shot Parker, but Russell said Martae Shanks was the shooter — and told police that Shanks acted in self defense.
The victim’s brother and mother testified in court as defense witnesses, saying they supported Russell’s version of events.
“Ask yourself why the family is taking the side of Mr. Russell, and the government is refusing to call them as a witness,” Whitley said.
Prosecutors: Russell has discrepancies in story
In closing statements Thursday, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Todd Willard pointed out several inconsistencies with the statements Russell gave and the evidence investigators have.
In police interviews, Russell said he was hiding in the bathroom when Parker fired two shots and his gun jammed. Russell said Parker went to grab another gun that had an empty clip inside.
Willard argued Russell wouldn’t have known that Parker went to grab a gun without bullets if he was hiding in the bathroom.
Willard also said Russell was not initially forthcoming with police about his part in driving the car to the barn to burn Parker’s body. Later, Russell did admit to police he participated, but said it was because he was scared of what Shanks would do.
“I don’t think they were scared of anybody because they were trying to make sense of something that they did that was unfathomable,” Willard said.
In efforts to defend his key witnesses, Willard said that while Autumn Shanks may have been high on cocaine during her statements with police, they were willful statements made early in the investigation and what she said was largely consistent to the other statements of Russell and Martae Shanks.
“The stories are so similar aside from the story of who pulled the trigger,” he said.
Willard said the defense was spinning two stories: that Martae Shanks killed Parker, and if Russell did kill Parker, it was in self defense.
Circuit Judge Thomas Travis admonished Willard for this statement, saying “at no point did the defense say (Russell) acted in self defense.”
Despite that, Willard said if they were to claim self defense, Russell admitted in his own police interviews that he didn’t think Parker was actually trying to kill him because he was “shooting low.”
Willard was assisted by other Assistant Commonwealth Attorneys Mary Tobin and Lindsey Studebaker during the case.
