A 24-year-old Alabama man has been charged with capital murder after a University of Alabama student and another man were found shot to death inside a Tuscaloosa County home where a dog was also killed.
Authorities identified the victims as 22-year-old Jazmine Alexis Bates and 31-year-old Jose Felix Alvarez-Duenas. Investigators said both victims died from gunshot wounds.
The suspect, De’Kendrick Crawford, 24, was arrested Tuesday following a multi-agency search. According to Captain Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, officers found Crawford hiding in an attic crawlspace at an apartment complex in Northport, roughly 10 hours after the victims’ bodies were discovered.
The investigation began Monday when Brookwood Police Department conducted a welfare check at a home on Alabama Junction Road in Brookwood. The homeowner was out of the country, and Bates had been staying at the residence to house-sit and care for the family’s dog.
After being unable to reach Bates for an extended period, the homeowner remotely accessed doorbell camera footage and noticed a man behaving suspiciously on the back porch during the late-night and early-morning hours of July 6. The homeowner contacted the landlord, who requested police conduct a welfare check.
When officers entered the home, they found Alvarez-Duenas dead near the front entrance. A search of the residence led to the discovery of Bates’ body inside a bedroom closet. Investigators also found the homeowner’s dog dead from a gunshot wound.
Authorities said the homeowner, both victims and Crawford all knew one another through their employment at the same local business.
The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit and Cyber Unit assisted investigators in processing the scene and examining electronic devices. Detectives said doorbell camera footage, along with other investigative methods, helped identify Crawford as the suspect.
Crawford has been charged with capital murder involving the deaths of two or more people. The investigation remains ongoing.
