A phone call changed the course of history as it reopened a murder case which has gone cold for more than two decades because evidence did not point to a murderer.
On Wednesday, however, a man, identified as Johnny Dwight Whited, made the call to the police to confess to the murder of Christopher Alvin Dailey that happened in 1995.
According to authorities, the Decatur Police Department received a call from Whited wherein he admitted that he was the one behind the slaying of Dailey.
According to ABC, the police statement said that the 53-year-old Whited was immediately charged with murder after he gave details which coincided with the information and evidence that were collected in the death of Dailey 25 years ago.
Based on court records, there is no defense attorney which could speak on behalf of the self-confessed murderer on the charges of murder. However, the records did show that aside from the murder charges he is also awaiting trial for a methamphetamine charge which is set to happen in May.
Griff Belser, Whited's drug case lawyer stated that he was oblivious of his client's connection to the 1995 slaying until the police announced it on Thursday. He also added that Whited never mentioned anything about the murder to him.
Whited has been involved in several arrests including charges for traffic violations and drug offenses through the years.
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He was also once charged for possessing a cracked cocaine pipe just a few weeks after Dailey's body was found by two hunters on April 26, 1995. When the hunters discovered Dailey's body, they found that he sustained a gunshot wound to the head which killed him. In addition, Dailey's vehicle was found in the Tennessee River where it was partially submerged, Daily Mail reported.
However, Dailey's murder case remained unsolved after the police were unable to find a suspect nor any information that could lead to a possible murderer. They followed several leads but it was to no success. Until the Decatur PD received Whited's phone call digging up a case which has been buried for 25 years.
According to a sworn statement made by Investigator Sean Mukaddam, he was the first one to speak to Whited. He also stated that after admitting to the crime, the suspect agreed to show the police the scene of the crime he committed more than two decades ago.
The sworn statement also noted that several detectives met with the self-confessed murderer who took them to the crime scene and reenacted the crime. It was also stated that Whited provided information about the murder that corroborated with the facts that were found 25 years ago, Yahoo! News reported.
It is not unusual for the police to make appeals to the public to re-open old cases, however, with Dailey's case it has not happened. The authorities also stated that they do not know Whited's motivation on why he came forward and confessed for the crime that he committed decades ago.
At the moment, Whited has been detained and charged for the murder and was given bail set at $15,000.
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