VCU: Juvenile Kills Mom’s Boyfriend in Tuscaloosa County Friday

Police in Tuscaloosa County are on the scene of a homicide in the Cottondale area after a juvenile allegedly killed his mom's boyfriend Friday morning.

Captain Jack Kennedy, the commander of the multi-agency Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, told local media that Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's deputies were called to 19th Street East in Cottondale on reports of a shooting around 3 a.m. Friday.

Deputies found a 39-year-old man, Cornelius Darnell Witherspoon, fatally shot in a vehicle at a residence there.

The Tuscaloosa VCU was called out and Kennedy said they learned that Witherspoon lived at the house with his girlfriend and several of her children.

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Kennedy said investigators believe the victim got into an argument with his girlfriend's juvenile son, who then fatally shot Witherspoon.

Kennedy said the suspect is under the age of 18 and cannot be identified publicly by the VCU because of Alabama law.

Although he cannot be named, Kennedy said the juvenile suspect has been charged as an adult with capital murder.

By the count of Thread staff, this is the sixth homicide investigated by the VCU in Tuscaloosa County so far in 2025.