Moulton mom faces capital murder charge after son found shot, killed

MOULTON, Ala. (WAFF) - A Moulton mother was arrested for capital murder on Friday morning after a shooting investigation involving the death of her son.

Lawrence County Coroner Scott Norwood confirmed a seven-year-old male was found with two gunshot wounds at a Main Street home just before 3 a.m. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Capt. Russell Graham of the Moulton Police Department said a 911 call was received from the home. When officers arrived, they found a woman outside the home who notified officers of the dead child inside the home. The woman was identified as the mother of the boy.

Shannon Renee Karr was taken into custody and charged with capital murder.

Neighbor Susan Thrasher said as a mother, she can’t imagine why anyone would do this.

“It’s just been a sad day because it’s just hard to believe that a mother can kill their child,” Thrasher said. “I just can’t imagine what caused her to do such a thing and I’m just hoping the little boy was asleep.”

Graham said the gunshot wounds were sustained from close range. The child’s body was transported from the scene for further autopsy.

Graham added that as a Father, the scene was disturbiung and difficult to witness.

“It’s not easy, any death is bad but especially when you are dealing with a small child,” Graham said. “I’ve got children of my own that are right around that age so that’s a little tough but I’m trying to put that aside right now and just look at this purely from an investigative standpoint.”

Karr appeared in Lawrence County District Court Friday morning for an initial appearance. She will be held without bond in the Lawrence County Jail until her attorney can file a motion for a bond hearing. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 23 at 8:30 a.m.

Nextdoor neighbor Tad Hazle said he simply can’t believe something like this would happen in his small town.

“It was shocking. I’ve seen the little boy several times, he would play with my dogs and ride his bike down the sidewalk,” Hazle said. “It is terrible, just terrible.”

The Lawrence County judge warned Karr this would be a long process because there are several capital murder cases that need to be tried, like Posey Echols. He is accused of setting a house on fire to kill Durman McDaniel, 63.

Click Here to Subscribe on YouTube: Watch the latest WAFF 48 news, sports & weather videos on our YouTube channel!

Copyright 2023 WAFF. All rights reserved.