Back on January 18th, Montgomery, Alabama resident Ralph McNeil was murdered. He was shot and stabbed outside his home on Pilgrim Road. This article gives details (Montgomery Advertiser, 2/24/11).
Although the police continue to investigate, they’ve made three arrests in the case and have testified at the defendants’ bail hearings. The case will now go to a grand jury to decide whether to charge the three or any of them.
Behind bars are Serenna English, David Nash and Jeremy Riley. The police testified that English and McNeil had a child together and that McNeil had recently gotten joint custody. According to police, that set in motion a murder-for-hire scheme in which English and Nash paid Riley to kill McNeil. Nash and English apparently had plans to marry.
Riley pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year and was released having been sentenced to time served. Nash is a former physician who lost his license in 2004 for giving 90 fake flu shots.
McNeil is somewhat of a local folk hero. Known as the “Critter Man,” he was well-known and liked in the area. His business was the removal of nuisance animals from people’s houses and premises. Over the years he removed racoons, bees, otters, snakes and the like. McNeil said he was able to preserve the animals he trapped in 90% of cases and release them into the wild.
His murder is a case we’ll follow here.