Three men charged in slaying of friend
Posted on Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Three friends of a Stone County man were charged in his death Monday, Stone County Sheriff Todd Hudspeth said.
Kagen Futrell, 19, was beaten and stabbed to death, Hudspeth said. Officers found his body Saturday in a wooded area off Parma Road in southwestern Stone County.
Three men were charged Monday with capital murder, aggravated robbery and theft of property in an initial court appearance in Stone County Circuit Court, said Holly Meyer, 16 th Judicial District deputy prosecutor.
The sheriff identified those charged as Michael Blackford, 19, and David Tidwell, 34, who lived together in Stone County; and Steven Carpenter, 26, of rural Fulton County.
Hudspeth said Futrell was friends with the three men. “They were buddies — no doubt about it,” he said. However, the circumstances leading up to Futrell’s death were unclear.
“We don’t have a motive, definitely. We get different stories from each individual,” Hudspeth said.
Futrell disappeared early Wednesday morning, and family members reported him missing Thursday.
Authorities believe the three men persuaded him to accompany them to a rural area, where he was killed. His wallet and cell phone were missing. The men also are accused of stealing a 1993 minivan in Mountain View and using it to transport Futrell. The abandoned van was found a few miles away from the body.
Blackford and Carpenter also are charged as habitual offenders, and Tidwell also is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, Meyer said.
All three are being held in the Stone County jail.
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