ALEA Rules September Death of Mother and Toddler to be Murder-Suicide

A 32-year-old woman found dead in a West Alabama river earlier this year killed herself and her three-year-old child, state police have determined.

As the Thread previously reported, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency launched an investigation at the request of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office in late September to help find a 32-year-old woman, Shardee McGill, and her 3-year-old child.

They were missing from Jackson, Mississippi, but McGill's vehicle was discovered in the Epes community of Sumter County, adjacent to the Tombigbee River.

Get our free mobile app

Days after that finding, an adult's body was recovered from the river, and the toddler's body was discovered the following day.

Months later, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the state Department of Forensic Sciences had confirmed the identities of the bodies and found their cause of death was drowning.

"McGill’s death was determined to be a suicide and the child’s death
a homicide, with McGill as the suspect. Over the course of the investigation, the determination has been made that there are no additional suspects involved," ALEA Secretary HJal Taylor said in a statement. "ALEA would like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI), the 17th Judicial Circuit, District Attorney’s Office, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jackson Police Department, Mississippi, for their assistance in this investigation."

They had no other information to share about the case on Thursday, and said their findings would ultimately be given to the district attorney's office in Sumter County.

For more exclusive coverage of crime and courts in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.