TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — A preliminary hearing was held Tuesday in Tuscaloosa for three capital murder suspects accused of brutally murdering a woman.
After hearing graphic details about the murder of Samantha Payne, A Judge decided there is probable cause to keep the three suspects charged with capital murder In jail.
The victims mother Susanne Payne says it was difficult to sit in the same room during the proceeding.
“It makes me very angry, it was hard. I’ve dreaded going in there and being face to face with those people” Payne said.
Michael Belcher, Steven George and Chylli Bruce are all charged with Capital Murder. The trio had their preliminary hearing inside the Tuscaloosa County Jail.
Samantha Paynes body was found by hunters on November 9th, a week after her murder, in the National Forest in Tuscaloosa County. A homicide investigator told the court Tuesday that the suspects had been using drugs. And later on Payne was beaten, then the suspects drove the 29 year old from Bibb County to the National forest where she was tied up to a tree. Police say suspect Michael Belcher used a knife to stab the victim to death.
Samantha Paynes mother says despite the gruesome murder, her family is honoring her daughters memory.
“She was very outgoing, she loved people and never met a stranger. She smiled everywhere she went and that is what people remember about her”.
This capital murder case will now go to a Grand Jury, no date was set.
Copyright 2015 WIAT 42 News
