Court gavel

From car crashes to conspiracies, manslaughter and murder charges from incidents as far back as 2015 could come before a jury in 2019. Here are some of the homicide cases currently set for trial in the new year.

Reckless manslaughter

Two fatal wrecks are set for jury trial Feb. 4, 2019. The first occurred Aug. 11, 2015, when a log truck driver headed southbound on U.S. 31 hit a commercial van traveling eastbound on Huntsville-Browns Ferry Road.

Witnesses at the scene told Athens police John Lawson Oden, 71, ran a stoplight. Clyde Paul Crawford, 68, was declared dead at the scene. Oden was indicted on a reckless manslaughter charge Jan. 12, 2017.

The second fatal wreck occurred Oct. 12, 2016. Available court records do not specify what 29-year-old Stanley Gerrod Wiggins did to merit a manslaughter charge, though he was one of two drivers in a two-car crash on Interstate 65, about 2 miles south of Athens.

The other driver, 54-year-old Susan T. Wilson, died from injuries sustained in the wreck. A Limestone County grand jury indicted Wiggins on Jan. 9, 2018.

Malinowski conspiracy

The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office arrested Misty Carol Malinowski in May 2017. According to investigators, she was worried about losing custody of her child to the child’s father, so she tried to hire a man to kill him.

The would-be hit man contacted the child’s father and warned him of the plot, which was then reported to authorities.

“It was a stupid decision on her part,” Investigator Johnny Morrell told The News Courier at the time.

Malinowski was indicted by a Limestone County grand jury April 7, 2017 for conspiracy to commit murder. She is currently scheduled for trial March 25, 2019.

Death of a passenger

Walter Lee Bowden is accused of driving under the influence and reckless murder after the 2013 Dodge he was driving July 19, 2015, crashed 2 miles south of Ardmore on Alabama 251.

Thomas Siniard was a passenger in the Dodge. He died as a result of the wreck.

Bowden’s trial is currently scheduled for March 25, 2019.

Murder by Publix

Two teens escaped from a juvenile detention center Aug. 14, 2017, and visited a construction site behind Publix that night. There, authorities believe the two robbed and murdered 61-year-old Van Johnson of Riverdale, Georgia, who was working a night shift at the site.

Aaron Raynard Jones, 17, and Jakobe Carter, 18, were arrested the next morning. They are each charged with capital murder and second-degree burglary.

Records show youthful offender status was denied for Jones, but no trial date is available. Carter is set for jury trial Feb. 4, 2019.

Child victim

Christina Marie Beck faces trial in the death of 5-year-old Eli Beck, the passenger of a rental car Christina Beck was driving April 21.

Limestone Coroner Mike West said at the time it appeared Christina Beck lost control of her car as she was crossing a bridge and slid into the path of an oncoming utility van. West said it was raining but he did not know if that played a role.

According to an incident report, Christina Beck was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time of the crash. While the 5-year-old victim was wearing a seatbelt, he was not in a child restraint.

It was Christina Beck’s second DUI charge in as many months. The jury trial related to her murder charge is scheduled for April 15, 2019.