Ala sheriff: Ongoing feud linked to killings

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February 26, 2013

Ala sheriff: Ongoing feud linked to killings

Anonymous Associated Press Tue Feb 26, 2013, 12:24 PM CST

PHENIX CITY, Ala. — The Russell County sheriff says a double slaying in Hurtsboro was the continuation of a family feud in southeast Alabama.

Sheriff Heath Taylor says the killings of 27-year-old Michelle Denise Buchanan of Opelika and her 35-year-old boyfriend, Reginald Berry of Pittsview, were linked to a dispute between families.

Taylor says neither victim belonged to the fighting families. But they were caught up in a dispute that goes back about a year.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports four people are now charged in the slayings, which happened Feb. 18 in Macon County.

The sheriff says 20-year-old Derrick Cliatt and 19-year-old Dexter Saxton are the latest people charged in the killings. Both men are from Hurtsboro.

Two other men were charged previously. Authorities say all four people face capital murder charges.

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