The sister of an Alabama man who vanished on July 4th and found dead two days later has revealed disturbing details about what she says were his boyfriend's bizarre behavior during the initial search.
Deundray Cottrell, 31, was reported missing nearly two days before police discovered his body on July 6 in a Birmingham neighborhood, close to where he had disappeared.
According to Alabama police, Julian Morris, 31, Cottrell's boyfriend, has been identified as a person of interest in his death.
🚨HELP LOCATE🚨
— Bhampolice (@BhamPolice) July 6, 2024
BPD needs your help locating Julian Taylor Morris in relation to the Missing Person Investigation / Death Investigation of Deundray Cottrell.
Julian Morris
31 years old
B/M 5'6" 160 Pounds pic.twitter.com/tRTJvIRU5W
Investigators believe that Morris was the last person to see Cottrell alive on July 4th, before his body was found several days later.
Family members told Channel 2's Elizabeth Rawlins that they suspect they know what happened over the holiday weekend. Angelica Cottrell, the victim's sister said that Deundray's sister, told WSB-TV that "it was definitely confirmed today that my brother was murdered."
She explained that her brother and Morris drove from Atlanta to Birmingham to celebrate the holiday with her and her family.
"My children started to pop fireworks, and because my brother had his dog with him, he was gonna run into the house real quick and go and check on the dog," Angelica said.
She stated that Morris was the one who alerted her to her brother's disappearance, claiming he had jumped off her patio balcony.
"He told us that when he jumped, he bounced, got up, jumped the fence, and took off running," she said, adding that his reaction and behavior were very bizarre, notin, "While we looked, Julian didn't."
"At one point when everybody was searching, Julian had fixed a plate and was sitting there eating, and he looked at me and said, Omg, the food is so good."
Presuming that Morris might be withholding more than he was letting on, Angelica ordered him to leave and find somewhere else to stay.
"Julian knows everything, and he made a point to keep reminding me throughout his rants that he was a marine," she said.
The police are searching for Morris. There is currently a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to his arrest.
