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quote:
Originally posted by FirenzeVeritas:
The recent stabbing of Tyrone Grant reminded me of a similar murder that occurred in a Sheffield park in the early 90s. A young black man named Chris Stanback, approx. 17 years old, was found dead--stabbed and mutilated. No one has ever been arrested for this heinous crime. Stanback was a reputed drug dealer, and I have no reason to believe he was not.

However, it was rumored at the time that the mutilation Chris received was castration--a very personal attack. Chris was also rumored to be dating a white girl who was the only daughter of a public official in a nearby town. These rumors further implied that this dept. head and another official of this same town conspired to murder Chris. Does anyone remember any concrete details about this crime?


Hey Fire, I think you are talking about a case in Sheffield, that I do not remember the names, but several young men kidnapped another man off of Atlanta street, and took him to City park West close to the village, the beat him with basebats, i dont remember the year or the names, but maybe this will help. I think all the men were convicted and are in prison now.
Yes, someone pointed out that it was a young man named Sammy Ervin or Calvin Ricks and his killers have been found. I have never attempted to change the heading. I was interested in the outcome of both murders, but the Stanback case seems to be the one of most concern to people. I'm sure he wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen, but no one (or at least very few) deserve to die that way.

smurph, I had thought the same thoughts as you, and it's very sad for everyone involved.
Chris Stanback's murder case is still an open case. I am not sure of the date but a few years back the Alabama FBI took over the case. There have been 2 main suspects in the case since day one and they are both Florence Police Officers. I know one of the officers is Jeff Redcross. He was questioned by the FBI several times a few years ago. But as crooked as the FPD is, Chris' murder may never be solved. I have read that a lot of people are calling Chris a drug dealer. He was never a drug dealer and never really did drugs. HIs brother Rudy was the one involved in drugs and had lots of run ins with the police. Chris was a all around good guy. If you don't know someone personally, then don't talk trash about them. Chris is dead and cannot defend himself. And no he didn't get what he deserved. He was a victim of racial profiling and that is something the FPD do to people every day.
quote:
Originally posted by Gabriel:
Chris Stanback's murder case is still an open case. I am not sure of the date but a few years back the Alabama FBI took over the case. There have been 2 main suspects in the case since day one and they are both Florence Police Officers. I know one of the officers is Jeff Redcross. He was questioned by the FBI several times a few years ago. But as crooked as the FPD is, Chris' murder may never be solved. I have read that a lot of people are calling Chris a drug dealer. He was never a drug dealer and never really did drugs. HIs brother Rudy was the one involved in drugs and had lots of run ins with the police. Chris was a all around good guy. If you don't know someone personally, then don't talk trash about them. Chris is dead and cannot defend himself. And no he didn't get what he deserved. He was a victim of racial profiling and that is something the FPD do to people every day.


I suggest you go back and get your facts, specifically names straight. Jeff Redcross had nothing to do with this whatsoever. I imagine that the FBI did interview him since he assisted them in followup investigations.
quote:
Originally posted by Gabriel:
Chris Stanback's murder case is still an open case. I am not sure of the date but a few years back the Alabama FBI took over the case. There have been 2 main suspects in the case since day one and they are both Florence Police Officers. I know one of the officers is Jeff Redcross. He was questioned by the FBI several times a few years ago. But as crooked as the FPD is, Chris' murder may never be solved. I have read that a lot of people are calling Chris a drug dealer. He was never a drug dealer and never really did drugs. HIs brother Rudy was the one involved in drugs and had lots of run ins with the police. Chris was a all around good guy. If you don't know someone personally, then don't talk trash about them. Chris is dead and cannot defend himself. And no he didn't get what he deserved. He was a victim of racial profiling and that is something the FPD do to people every day.



He was never a drug dealer and never really did drugs. You either do drugs or you don't

I am not sure of the date but a few years back the Alabama FBI took over the case.Are you referring to the ABI or the FBI? They are totally different.

There have been 2 main suspects in the case since day one and they are both Florence Police Officers.I assume this information came from the ABI or the FBI? You stated that the Florence PD was crooked, so I'm sure you wouldn't trust any information given by anyone from that particular department. I"m curious as to how you obtained the names of the so called suspects.
I have most of my information from personal conversations with Stanback family members and friends who work with the FPD. At the time of Stanback's death he was dating my best friend (at the time) and no she was not the daughter of a Florence Police Officer. She and I were also witnesses and some of the last people (besides his brother and mother) to see him alive.
to actingmayor:

if redcross had nothing to do with it then why was he and another florence officer, the first suspects in the case? weeks before chris' death he was harassed many times by redcross and redcross was in the carver heights area at the time of chris' death. look, i was with the family, with chris' friends at the time of his death, i was also questioned about all of it again 2004, i know a little more about it than you do.
quote:
Originally posted by FirenzeVeritas:
Crimson, I wasn't sure if you were asking facetiously or out of actual interest. Some years ago the FBI did take over the case due to age of the victim--crimes against children?

They had the body exhumed, I believe, but nothing came of it. Actually, I think they stated it was ongoing, but nothing official has come of it.



I was asking out of interest. I remember the body being exhumed and the mother being present. I didn't think that involved the FBI though. I could be wrong but I thought it was a group of LEO's that looked at cold cases.
quote:
Originally posted by Gabriel:
to actingmayor:

if redcross had nothing to do with it then why was he and another florence officer, the first suspects in the case? weeks before chris' death he was harassed many times by redcross and redcross was in the carver heights area at the time of chris' death. look, i was with the family, with chris' friends at the time of his death, i was also questioned about all of it again 2004, i know a little more about it than you do.



How can you be so sure of what I know about the case. I am a LEO and even though I do not work at Florence I have many friends that are employed there including Jeff Redcross. I also went to school with Chris and Harold (aka Rudy). I can tell you right now that no one offically told the family that a officer employed by the city of Florence killed Chris. There have been plenty of rumors that surrounded this tragedy. I believe Rudy has also been mentioned as a suspect in some of those rumors. This incident followed Operation Copy Cat, and Florence PD wasn't very popular at that particular time.
I am very familiar with the Stanback case but I will reserve comment at this time as it an active investigation by the Lauderdale Co. DA's office, FBI, ABI and FPD. It makes for fun discussion but if it is ever solved it will be very doubtful if any of the characters such as a police or fire chief were involved. In his defense, Sgt. Redcross has been mentioned, he was NOT employed at FPD at the time but has worked a great deal on the case, very successfully I might add.

The murder in Sheffield did happen in the park near the river. It was high profile because a group of Florence drug dealers beat him to death in the park and then drove him around Florence showing his dead body to others in an effort to intimidate other dealers. The offender by the last name of Turner is serving life without parole and the others were given sentences ranging from 10-70 years for the murder. The case was tried in Colbert Co. since the murder took place there. It was early 1990's during very tense times in West Florence.

You would have to see where Stanback was found to understand that no person, especially white could have gotten to without being noticed. During that time there were persons in the street 24 hours a day and very aware of the police.
quote:
Originally posted by verdane:
You would have to see where Stanback was found to understand that no person, especially white could have gotten to without being noticed. During that time there were persons in the street 24 hours a day and very aware of the police.


And probably quite intimidated by them. Tell me, are you also trying to sell the O'Neal bridge? Roll Eyes
Last edited by SaltyDog
He was arrested weeks before with members of the Russell family transporting a large amount of cocaine. The arrest happened in Cullman. Stanback was the only juvenile and many in law enforcement felt that since Stanback refused to claim the drugs and let the Russell's off the hook that may have been motive. Ironically 2 of the Russell's in the vehicle are currently serving time for murder. HMMMMMM
I was living in Carver Heights at the time of the Chris Stanback murder.I stood in the streets with hundreds of other people watching and waiting for his body to be recovered from the bushes.I know that small children found his body while playing in the bushes and ran for help.I remember being told what his body looked like as if it was yesterday.A lot of people keep saying he was a drug dealer and he was a bad kid but it doesn't matter if its true or not.He was tortured and left to rot and people need to remember that he was someones son.No one deserves to die that way.I strongly believe that the reason his murder has gone unsolved all these years is because of the perfect cover up.I also never heard of Jeff Redcross being involved.Whoever killed Chris was filled with a lot of hate because of the degree of violence.
Frostyhairqueen you are quite correct. Chris was beaten in a horrible way and then left there. There was confusion if he had been burned or not due to the damage but it was strictly from the beating. I agree with you Chris was a bad kid but regardless nobody deserves to be treated the way he was. The unusual thing during that time was his brother Rudy had an ongoing fued with a crew from Sheffield in which a week before Chris's death there were gunshots exchanged between the groups. Chris and Rudy look very much alike and it also possible that Chris's death outside the Russell's could have been mistaken identity. After Chris's death, Rudy nor Chris's sister showed any remorse or regret. Law enforcement was told Chris and Rudy were competing drug dealers. HMMMMMMM
Verdane I don't think the murder will ever be solved.I don't know if people are afraid to talk or just afraid of self incrimination.Rumors circulating back then were that Chris was involved with Rick Thompson's daughter and he wasn't too fond of that.Rumors also were that it was over drugs.Whatever it was I believe the way he was tortured was a message.I believe it was in August when his body was found.It was extremely hot that summer and I heard Chris' body suffered a lot of heat damage.I remember feeling so sorry for his family wondering who on earth could do such a thing.It makes you really wonder what kind of world we live in.
I don't know anything about drug dealers/murderers. I don't even remember the body being found. But I do know this, Jeff was our neighbor and one of the sweetest, kindest guy I've ever known. He did, however, not have any use for trashy people. I can't imagine that going any further than washing his police car every single day to get the stench out from nastiness the criminals left in the backseat, however.
quote:
Originally posted by verdane:
Frostyhairqueen you are quite correct. Chris was beaten in a horrible way and then left there. There was confusion if he had been burned or not due to the damage but it was strictly from the beating. I agree with you Chris was a bad kid but regardless nobody deserves to be treated the way he was. The unusual thing during that time was his brother Rudy had an ongoing fued with a crew from Sheffield in which a week before Chris's death there were gunshots exchanged between the groups. Chris and Rudy look very much alike and it also possible that Chris's death outside the Russell's could have been mistaken identity. After Chris's death, Rudy nor Chris's sister showed any remorse or regret. Law enforcement was told Chris and Rudy were competing drug dealers. HMMMMMMM



It's possible that someone mistaked Chris for Rudy. They were similar in statue, but Chris had a light skin tone while Rudy's is dark.
quote:
Originally posted by Kindred:
quote:
Originally posted by GTO4ever:
If no one has ever read the complete story of Chris Stanback I have to say its very chilling and that is being nice!



Where could I find it? Is it a book?



Shoot me a PM, I'll tell you what I know about this. Not in thie public way though,
quote:
Originally posted by CrimsonLegacy198:
quote:
Originally posted by Gabriel:
to actingmayor:

if redcross had nothing to do with it then why was he and another florence officer, the first suspects in the case? weeks before chris' death he was harassed many times by redcross and redcross was in the carver heights area at the time of chris' death. look, i was with the family, with chris' friends at the time of his death, i was also questioned about all of it again 2004, i know a little more about it than you do.



How can you be so sure of what I know about the case. I am a LEO and even though I do not work at Florence I have many friends that are employed there including Jeff Redcross. I also went to school with Chris and Harold (aka Rudy). I can tell you right now that no one offically told the family that a officer employed by the city of Florence killed Chris. There have been plenty of rumors that surrounded this tragedy. I believe Rudy has also been mentioned as a suspect in some of those rumors. This incident followed Operation Copy Cat, and Florence PD wasn't very popular at that particular time.
This is just a thought,but would that not be breaking a law by your friends(who are with FPD)talking about a murder case giving out information that does not need to be discussed because first you said you were not with FPD?
quote:
Originally posted by frostyhairqueen:
I was living in Carver Heights at the time of the Chris Stanback murder.I stood in the streets with hundreds of other people watching and waiting for his body to be recovered from the bushes.I know that small children found his body while playing in the bushes and ran for help.I remember being told what his body looked like as if it was yesterday.A lot of people keep saying he was a drug dealer and he was a bad kid but it doesn't matter if its true or not.He was tortured and left to rot and people need to remember that he was someones son.No one deserves to die that way.I strongly believe that the reason his murder has gone unsolved all these years is because of the perfect cover up.I also never heard of Jeff Redcross being involved.Whoever killed Chris was filled with a lot of hate because of the degree of violence.

You are so right, He was someones son,and if he was this bad person like some has said. So what! he was a human being, and no one deserves to die the way he did.
quote:
Originally posted by ~*~Freebird~*~:
quote:
Originally posted by CrimsonLegacy198:
quote:
Originally posted by Gabriel:
to actingmayor:

if redcross had nothing to do with it then why was he and another florence officer, the first suspects in the case? weeks before chris' death he was harassed many times by redcross and redcross was in the carver heights area at the time of chris' death. look, i was with the family, with chris' friends at the time of his death, i was also questioned about all of it again 2004, i know a little more about it than you do.



How can you be so sure of what I know about the case. I am a LEO and even though I do not work at Florence I have many friends that are employed there including Jeff Redcross. I also went to school with Chris and Harold (aka Rudy). I can tell you right now that no one offically told the family that a officer employed by the city of Florence killed Chris. There have been plenty of rumors that surrounded this tragedy. I believe Rudy has also been mentioned as a suspect in some of those rumors. This incident followed Operation Copy Cat, and Florence PD wasn't very popular at that particular time.
This is just a thought,but would that not be breaking a law by your friends(who are with FPD)talking about a murder case giving out information that does not need to be discussed because first you said you were not with FPD?



How would it be breaking the law? It simple, its not. However, I am a LEO in a neighboring city. The departments share case information. I hope that answered your question.
quote:
Originally posted by The Architect:
The forum refers to the fire chief and police chief. How would Mr. Cochran and Mr.Singleton be concerned with what the forum calls a drug seller. It seems to me that he was probably killed by a rival drug dealer it happens all the time. Someone refers to a confession. Is that available for us to view anywhere, I would love to read it.


click on that link that says confession posted by FV
Originally Posted by jbnal:
Stanback was found in Florence near Craver Homes, his unsolved murder is still puzzling considering the evidence found etc.
His brother was the reputed drug dealer, I don't think Chris Stanback was dirty but either way his murder was senseless.

Also, Bluesman you give SB too much credit and should aim HIGHER to find any cover ups at FPD
or Florence City.

It would be interesting if the Bluesman would tell us all that he knows on who.

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