Funeral services for Amberly Barnett, the 11-year-old killed in northeast Alabama this past weekend, will be held Friday in Georgia.
Barnett is from Georgia, but she was living with her aunt in DeKalb County, Alabama when she was killed, authorities have said.
Visitation services will be from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Cedartown, Georgia, according to Barnett’s obituary. The funeral service is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the church. Burial will follow at the Northview Cemetery.
Barnett was found dead in the Mount Vernon community of northeast Alabama on Saturday morning following an overnight search, authorities said. Christopher Madison, a 33-year-old who lived in the same neighborhood where Barnett was staying, has been charged with capital murder.
DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden has said an initial autopsy showed Barnett was strangled. Investigators said they aren’t commenting on a motive for the killing.
Barnett’s body was found about 200 yards behind Madison’s home early Saturday, Welden said. Barnett had been reported missing late Friday in the neighborhood on County Road 822. Family members told WAFF 48 News that Amberly stayed home while they went to Walmart Friday evening. When they returned, Amberly was missing, they told the TV station.
Madison was initially arrested Saturday evening on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance, records show. He was accused of having methamphetamine and a syringe, court records show. The capital murder charge was added Monday.
In Alabama, capital murder is punishable by the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Alabama court records don’t show a criminal record for Madison, who previously lived in Georgia. A search of court records in Cobb County, Georgia didn’t reveal a criminal history.
However, a woman in DeKalb County, Alabama last year sought a protection from abuse order against Madison. In court records, the woman alleged that Madison had hit her in the head with a hammer, punched her in the face, smacked her head on the floor and strangled her to the point she passed out. A judge dismissed the petition when the woman and Madison failed to show up for a court hearing.
Madison is being held without bail in the DeKalb County jail. Court records don’t show a defense attorney.