Columbiana man charged with murdering grandmother

COLUMBIANA, Ala. (WIAT) — The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Columbiana man with the murder of his grandmother.

According to SCSO, deputies were dispatched to the 100 block of Highway 97 in the Summerhill community on reports of a suspicious person. Shortly thereafter, deputies were called to a residence in the 100 block of Highway 315 where they discovered the resident, 77-year-old Dinah Davis Northcutt, deceased.

After a preliminary investigation, authorities arrested Northcutt’s grandson, 31-year-old Richard Alan Howell and charged him with her murder.

Howell is now being held at the Shelby County Jail on a $150,000 bond.