
COLLINSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The DeKalb County Sherriff’s Office has identified the victim of a shooting earlier this week.
The sheriff’s office says the victim is 38-year-old Kristy Gladden Hancock, who was found Tuesday dead with a gunshot wound after officers responded to a call off of County Road 221 in Collinsville.
DCSO said neighbors encountered a man in the area, later identified as James Michael Howard Jr., 27, and told officers about him. Howard was interviewed and investigators determined he was at the victim’s home earlier in the day.
Authorities interviewed several other people and processed the scene before arresting and charging Howard with murder and public intoxication.
Court documents state the murder occurred around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, and he was arrested just before 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Howard is being held at the DeKalb County Detention Center.
Hancock’s family started a GoFundMe to help pay for her funeral expenses, which you can find here.


