[AL] Sweet Cormella, shot and killed by her husband, recently resigned Anniston police officer Boyd

Cormella Teague Boyd died after being shot multiple times by her husband, former Anniston Police Officer Fredrick "Fred" Boyd. Fred Boyd resigned on bad terms from the Anniston Alabama police department in August of 2011 after working there for 17 years and lately had been a security guard.

Cormella Teague Boyd
Obituary
The Anniston Star
July 27, 2012
...There will be no viewing... [Link]

EXCERPTS FROM GUEST BOOK:
Cormella I love you and will miss you. I keep walking the halls in the mornings still looking for you. my heart is broken to pieces right now.God bless your family on the days to come .amen... God has added another flower to his beautiful garden... My prayers are with the Teague and Boyd family. She was a great person and a great Aunt to my daughter Judy. You will be missed greatly. McGrue and Collins Family...You were one of a kind...I know she is resting with God and family members gone on before her...Cormella u will truly b miss out of the 3 yrs I worked with u I grew to love u as a person RIP till we meet again...Cormella, I will miss your beautiful smile. I will never forgot the time you gave from the back to help me at walmart. I still laugh when I could not find a certain type of meat I was looking for. To my surprise you always came out to help me with that.It was a blessing to have met such an amazing angel...CORMELLA WAS A VERY SWEET PERSON AND WILL BE MISSED BUT HER SWEET SPIRIT WILL LIVE ON FOREVER!...Ours thoughts and prayes goes out to the Teague and Boyd families...I worked with Cormella and she was the sweetest person alway smiling and always spoke kind words, it breaks my heart for her to go so soon but I know she is flying high with the angels above with all those that have left us to soon, may God bless her family...glad that I knew her...she was loved and respected by the people she worked with...You will be missed cuz!!!!!! I love u...Cormella was a beautiful individual both inside and out...You were the light for so many people... Aunt B, Uncle George, Tez, and to cousin George Jr, our thoughts and prayers are with you... I will forever be grateful to have seen Cormella at the beginning of this month. Her presence of warmth and that beautiful smile will live on forever in my heart. I love you all!...R.I.P Ms. Cormella. Thank you for being an amazing friend and co-worker. You were truly an angel. Missing you immensely...Wow, words can't express how I feel at the moment...It has been a pleasure to have worked wtih you for the last 20 year. Thank you for being a kind gentle and respectful friend. Your memory will stay with me and in our Walmart family. I would like to let Tez know how proudly you spoke of him and the love you shown when you spoke his name...

SEARCH UNDERWAY FOR FORMER ANNISTON POLICE OFFICER
MyFoxAL
By Dennis Washington
Posted: Jul 23, 2012
[Excerpts] Authorities were searching Monday for a former Anniston police officer wanted in connection with two shootings early Monday morning. Chief Deputy Nathan Wade with the Calhoun County Sheriff's Department said deputies and officers with the Anniston Police Department were searching for Fred Boyd, a former Anniston police officer.  Boyd was wanted in connection with two shootings, one of which happened at his home in Saks and the other at his uncle's home in Hobson City... Anniston Police, on its Facebook page, described Boyd as a "homicide suspect," but authorities have not released the condition of the victim(s)... Officers and deputies are searching for Boyd. He was last seen driving a 2006 GMC Yukon, Alabama license plate number AN90438...
Link]

ANNISTON SHOOTING SUSPECT TURNED HIMSELF IN AT MISS. POLICE DEPARTMENT
Anniston Star
Jul 23, 2012
[Excerpts] A man suspected in a Monday homicide in Anniston and a shooting attempt in Hobson City turned himself in at a police department in Mississippi, Calhoun County deputies say. Fred Boyd, a former warrants officer for the police department, was being sought in connection with the death of Boyd's wife, Anniston Police Chief Layton McGrady said. Coroner Pat Brown said the victim was Carmella Boyd, 41, of Saks... Boyd is also suspected in a non-fatal attack on a Hobson City resident this morning... Police Capt. Shane Denham said Boyd, who resigned from the police department in 2011, had been working as a security guard. Police officers with assault rifles could be seen guarding City Hall and the police department during the search... Boyd resigned from the department last year amid a certain amount of controversy. In his nearly two decades at the department, Boyd filed two EEOC complaints against his coworkers and supervisors... Link]

UPDATE: FORMER ANNISTON POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF KILLING WIFE, VICTIM ID'D
Former Anniston Police Officer accused of killing wife
Alabama's 13m By: Shannon Delcambre
NBC 13 , Hilary Golston
Published: July 23, 2012
Victim ID’d as suspect’s wife, Uncle speaks about Boyd’s state of mind - [Excerpts] Authorities confirm the suspect, Frederick Boyd, is accused of killing 41-year-old Cormella Boyd, his wife. According to officials, Cormella was shot multiple times around 7 am Monday. Police discovered Cormella at the home she shared with the former Anniston Police officer. The residence is located at 1105 Chatwood Drive in the Saks Community of Anniston... The relative, who police aren’t naming for privacy, reports Boyd had issues at his former work-place. The uncle reports Boyd didn’t like his supervisors. “A lot of accusations of his… that he disliked many members of the police department… one of his relatives had told us that in the past couple of weeks Boyd had been talking about members of the police department,” Police Sergeant Josh Doggrell said Monday... Link]

INVESTIGATORS SEARCH FOR MOTIVE BEHIND EX-LAWMAN'S DEADLY RAMPAGE
ABC3340.com
By Kevyn Stewart
Posted: Jul 23, 2012
[Excerpts] Gun shots rang out in Saks just before 7 Monday morning on normally quiet Chatwood Avenue. When Anniston police arrived on the scene they found 41-year old Cormella Boyd shot to death. Soon investigators realized their suspect was a man they once served with for many years; former Anniston police officer Fred Boyd... Pearl "I don't know what to think"... [Neighbor Charles] Pearl says he rarely saw the couple. He says they lived in the neighborhood for more than 6 years with their teen son. Investigators say the child was at home during the shooting. Pearl says he hardly saw Fred Boyd after he quit his job on the police force back in August. He has working security for Forte Power System's in Heflin. Police say Boyd was a patrolman for APD for 18 years. According to sources, he was disgruntled as he left the job. He had filed EEOC charges against the department. In fact, last September, just days after Anniston police officer Justin Sollohub was killed in the line of duty, city councilman Ben Little held a news conference alleging a frustrated police officer could reveal alleged troubles on the police force. We have confirmed Boyd was the mystery officer . 4 hours after the rampage began, Boyd turned himself in to police in Meridian, Mississippi. Boyd's former brothers in blue stood outside the police headquarters with assault rifles until he was in custody. Police insist there was no direct threat against them... Link]

BACKGROUND ON OFFICER SUSPECTED OF SHOOTING HIS WIFE
abc3340
By Cory McGinnis -
Posted: Jul 24, 2012
[Excerpts] Neighbors, family and former co-workers all say Boyd is a quiet man. So being a suspect in a fatal shooting seems odd to those who have met him. Police officers are now questioning Fred Boyd... Family members didn't want to speak on camera, but say Boyd was in high school when he met his future wife. But her life was cut short. Now family, friends, and former co-workers who say Boyd was a good person say, the good guy just snapped... Boyd does have a 15 yr old son, family members say he's currently with his grandmother in Anniston. Link]

FORMER ANNISTON OFFICER ARRESTED ON MURDER, ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES
Anniston Star
Jul 24, 2012
[Excerpts] ...Police reports state that the Saks shooting occurred between 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. and the Hobson City shooting occurred at 7:10 a.m. Police placed City Hall and the police department’s headquarters on lockdown Monday morning, with officers with assault rifles stationed outside the buildings. Anniston Police Chief Layton McGrady said Boyd had not made direct threats against either building. Police Lt. Shane Denham said the measures were a precaution police took because of Boyd’s history with the department. Boyd left the police department in August 2011, after a 17-year career. Before his resignation, Boyd's supervisors had transferred him from serving warrants to a desk job within the warrants division, taking in reports, Denham said. "There were issues that made us transfer him," Denham said, noting he wasn't at liberty to elaborate on what those specific "issues" were. "We really didn't know what we wanted to do with him." The same month that he resigned, Boyd, who is black, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the department claiming he was repeatedly harassed and denied promotion due to racial discrimination. That month, Anniston City Councilman Ben Little provided The Star with a DVD containing 50 pages of documents recounting Boyd’s experiences with fellow officers and several audio recordings alleged to be proof of racial comments aimed at Boyd. The audio files were mostly indecipherable. In November, the EEOC ruled there was not sufficient evidence to prove the police department had discriminated against Boyd... Link]

MURDER SUSPECT RETURNED TO CALHOUN COUNTY
Anniston Star
Brian Anderson
Jul 25, 2012
[Excerpts] The suspect in two shootings in Saks and Hobson City Monday was in custody at the Calhoun County jail Tuesday morning, according to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office. After driving more than 200 miles and surrendering to officials across state lines, Fred Boyd, 43, was extradited back to Alabama late Monday on charges of murder and attempted murder... Calhoun County Chief Deputy Matthew Wade said Boyd was cooperating with the sheriff’s office Tuesday morning, but was “not forthcoming” with information involving the crimes. “There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” Wade said. “We may or may not get all the answers”... George Teague Jr., who said he was Cormella Boyd’s brother, told a reporter Tuesday that the family did not wish to make any comments. Similar attempts by The Star to reach members of Boyd’s family Tuesday were also unsuccessful... Boyd was being held with no bail for either charge. His preliminary court date is scheduled for Sept. 6 at 1:30 p.m... Link]

2011 - Ex Officer Boyd's complaint: 

BEN LITTLE'S PRESS CONFERENCE THURSDAY BECOMES SHOUTING MATCH (MIDNIGHT UPDATE)
Anniston Star
Sep 01, 2011 |
[Excerpts] The women shouted, their mouths angry ‘O’s as they jabbed fingers at the Anniston City Councilman. Ben Little tried to speak above them as he expressed distress about the Anniston Police Department. “It is very concerning the allegations of the individuals making racist remarks and harassing peopled based on the color of their skin,” he said. But his words were nearly drowned out by Golden Springs resident Amber Sprayberry and others there to protest the councilman’s criticism of the police... Little’s goal Thursday morning was to hold a press conference to release a multi-media presentation he said contains proof of dogged harassment and racist behavior by Anniston police officers... As Little spoke about the lack of community trust of Anniston police, many in the crowd bristled against his words. “I’m going to pass out a DVD from a police officer who said he was tired of being harassed by the police force,” Little said as another woman screamed that the officer Little referred to was no longer employed by the department. The officer in question is Frederick Boyd, a 17-year veteran of the department who resigned Aug. 15. Boyd complained to City Manager Don Hoyt that fellow officers discriminated against him, according to Little and information contained on the DVD distributed to media... An Anniston Star review of the DVD revealed: 50 pages of documents recounting Boyd’s experiences with fellow officers and supervisors and a number of audio files labeled to suggest they provided proof of racist comments... Boyd was not at the press conference because, Little said, he had not asked him to be there. Neither did Little tell Boyd he planned to publicly release the documents. “When you give it to a councilman that means you want action taken,” Little said later that afternoon. “It’s public then”... Chief Layton McGrady bluntly denied the presence of racism within the department or individuals who frequently made racist comments while on duty. When a Star reporter pressed him on the issue, he offered the opportunity to interview some of the department’s black police officers... Link]

ANNISTON POLICE TRYING TO BRIDGE A GAP
Anniston Star
Cameron Steele
Sep 04, 2011
[Excerpts] ...Much of that area is Ward 3, which is represented by Anniston City Councilman Ben Little, and he’s not happy with the police’s action. And he’s vocal about his displeasure with the Police Department. That’s partly because, he says, the way officers conduct themselves causes the residents of his ward to mistrust them...  And police are angry at Little for what they say is - at best - lukewarm support, and - at worst - outright denigration: The day [Officer Justin] Sollohub died, the councilman remarked in a newspaper article that the police were to blame for the distrust between their department and the community... A few west Anniston residents said they felt some city officers treat them differently because of their race. Others disagree... But police officials said racial profiling is not among their tactics... Little says he’s just trying to “bring the truth to light”... At the conference he passed out DVDs to the media that contained written documents and audio files from a recently retired police officer. A review by The Star found the audio files largely indecipherable. But the 50 pages of documents revealed ex-officer Frederick Boyd’s first-hand claims of racism and harassment by fellow officers and supervisors. Little said the materials proved the Anniston Police Department had problems with racism... Anniston police cannot comment directly on the case because Boyd recently filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...Link]
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