CULLMAN — A Cullman County judge has determined probable cause to send an alleged murder’s case to the grand jury, following a two-hour preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Christopher H. Ledbetter, 37, of Boaz, was arrested late last year for the November 2009 murder of J.T. “Jimmy” Hayes, 72, of Fairview. Hayes was well-known as the former owner of Rack and Cue pool hall in Cullman.

Ledbetter was Hayes’ son-in-law, and served as a pallbearer at his funeral.

During the hearing, Ledbetter’s wife and Hayes’ daughter — Amanda Thompson — testified she was present when her father was murdered, though she said she was not involved.

Thompson said she tried to run away and Ledbetter tied her up in a back room of Hayes’ home while he committed the murder, and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

“I begged and pleaded (for him to stop),” Thompson said with tears in her eyes. “I’ve went through a lot of trauma.”

Cullman County Sheriff’s Investigator Phillip Bray said his office learned that Ledbetter had allegedly killed Hayes when a deputy overhead a conversation between Thompson and another woman discussing the matter on Dec. 23.

Bray said he and other deputies then went to Thompson’s location, because Ledbetter was allegedly on his way to kill her.

“We went to [that] location and Amanda stated she was present when Chris killed her father,” he said. “She was visibly upset and stated she was in fear of her life.”

A police bulletin was transmitted and Ledbetter was apprehended later that day on Highway 69, while traveling to Cullman from his Boaz home.

In a verbal statement given at the time, Bray said Thompson recounted the details of the day her father was killed at his Fairview home.

“She said Chris told J.T. he needed to talk to him about man-to-man business, then Chris hit [J.T.] in the head and knocked him down,” Bray said. “[Amanda] ran to a neighbor’s house for help, but no one was home, and Chris went and got her. When they returned to the home, Amanda said J.T. was in the floor ... paralyzed from the chest down because of his injuries.”

Bray said Thompson was forced to say good-bye to her father, then tied up in a back room, according to her statement.

“She said he drug her back by her hair and forced her to lay down by her father and tell him good-bye,” Bray said. “Chris then took her to the back bedroom and tied her up with an extension cord.”

Thompson said she was unsure how long she was held in the bedroom.

“It seemed like forever,” she said. “It felt like 30 minutes, but it could have been 5 minutes.”

Hayes died of manual strangulation and blunt force trauma to his body. Approximately $2,500 and some firearms were allegedly taken from his home.

Thompson reportedly covered her father’s head with a blanket before leaving, which was still there when officers discovered the body.

Before the day of Ledbetter’s arrest, Thompson had previously claimed to have no information about the murder. She said she made that claim because Ledbetter threatened her.

“I was afraid for my children, my life and my mother’s life,” she said.

When later asked about her father’s funeral arrangements, in which Ledbetter was a pallbearer, Thompson claimed Ledbetter made her include him.

“I didn’t decide it,” she said. “He told me to do it.”

After his arrest, Bray said Ledbetter contacted him because he wanted to talk.

“He said he killed J.T. Hayes and that he had strangled him,” he said. “He stated the voices he was hearing made him do it and he used illicit drugs to control the voices. On that day, he said he couldn’t control the voices anymore telling him to do it.”

Bray said Ledbetter then became agitated and repeatedly banged his head up against the wall.

“He was asking us to kill him,” he said. “We then terminated the interview.”

The case will now be bound over to the grand jury, per the recommendation of Judge Greg Nicholas. A potential trial date has not been set.

Ledbetter is currently incarcerated at the Cullman County Detention Center.



* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.