Found Deceased AL - Justin Kyle Lett, 28, Birmingham, 13 May

[cybervampira]

Bullet-riddled body found in Birmingham alley is missing man Justin Kyle Lett

A 28-year-old man who disappeared from Five Points South over the weekend has been identified as the murder victim found in a Birmingham alley.

Justin Kyle Lett was last seen about 2:50 a.m. Sunday outside of Marty's PM. The restaurant is located at 1813 10th Ct S in Five Points South. He had his cell phone and wallet with him, but multiple calls placed later placed to his cell phone were directed straight to voicemail.

Friends said there were no indications he would leave voluntarily and there was evidence he was planning to return home. Police said family members told detectives it's not like him to disappear or not be in touch with his family, especially on Mother's Day. He was an active member of Church of Highlands, and friends said he was a greeter at the Grants Mill campus.

Lett, who attended Briarwood Christian School and Samford University, was found slain about 11:30 a.m. Monday. The discovery was made in the alley between Coosa Street and Appalachee Street. He had been shot multiple times.

The body appears to have been found near a shed about 60 feet off of 11th Avenue North.

Those who knew Lett said he worked at an area fitness center, and described him as a sweet, fun and an outgoing guy. He is Birmingham's 38th homicide this year, and the 62nd in all of Jefferson County.

Investigators said they are at the very beginning of the investigation and don't yet have a motive or any suspects. Because he did not have any identification on him when his body was found, they are just now starting to track his movements before he died.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

Article: https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/05/body_found_in_birmingham_alley.html
His Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/607116819

 

[Hazelnutty]

Rest easy, Justin.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

 

[moonriverfarm]

I will be very keen on following this.

 

[lstiff]

Awful. RIP Justin

Random, targeted or personal?

 

[ilvrk]

One article I read said he was last seen getting into "a vehicle". To me that sounds like it wasn't his vehicle, so I wonder who he left with? I also saw a comment on one of the articles that Marty's PM is known to be LGBT friendly. I'm not implying anything about Justin, but this crime seems to be "over-kill" with him being shot multiple times. Heartbreaking no matter the circumstances.

 

[Pippys]

He got into a white car at Marty's. They have video footage, but it's not very good.

 

[joey88]

Who killed Justin Lett? Driver of white sedan sought for questioning as reward announced

 

[dotr]

NEW VIDEO at link.
Updated August 28 2020
NEW VIDEO: Officers release new video evidence in Birmingham man’s violent death
''BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Birmingham Police released new surveillance video Friday in the cold case of 28-year-old Justin Kyle Lett who was shot multiple times and killed in 2018.

Lett’s body was discovered in an alley off 11th Court North on Monday, May 14, 2018. Authorities said he had been shot several times.

Lett was last seen with friends at Marty’s PM on Southside at 2 a.m. on Sunday, May 13.

BPD’s Cold Case Unit released video that shows a white, newer model sedan leaving Marty’s PM around 2:50 a.m. Officers say Lett was last seen getting into the car on 10th Court South.

Officers say the driver was a white male.

If you know anything about this case or you know who is driving the car call BPD Homicide Detective Phillip Harris at 205-297-8459.''

 

[dotr]

This other video was released in 2019.

 

[allyoucantleavebehind]

I feel like this case has gotten so little coverage in Birmingham. Now it's a Cold Case. Hoping to get justice for Justin.

What we know from LE:

• Justin was last seen getting into a white, newer model sedan leaving Marty’s PM on Sunday around 2:50 a.m on 10th Court South.
• The driver of the vehicle was a white male.
• Justin had his cell phone and wallet with him when he got into the car; multiple calls placed later placed to his cell phone were directed straight to voicemail.
  
• On Monday around 11:30 pm, Justin was found dead in an alley near a shed about 60 feet off of 11th Avenue North. after being shot several times. This is not far from where he got into the car.
• Justin did not have a wallet or an ID on him when he was found.

Thoughts and questions:

• Marty PM's is located in Southside, near other bars and a sort of entertainment district. How long was Justin in the car?
• Did LE ever recover Justin's phone?
• If his cell phone is still missing, would LE have any way of noting if he had used Uber or Lyft? (The way he got into that car sounds like an Uber/Lyft arrangement; and Uber/Lyft drivers make a lot of money near Marty's on weekends.)
• Were any of his cards used (i.e. was this a robbery)?
• LE has not mentioned whether he was physically or sexually assaulted in addition to being shot. How many times was he shot? Where the shots closer to a targeted execution or an angry mess with lots of bullets?
• Was he shot in the alley or just dumped there?
• Did he have any enemies? What friends was he seeing that night? Justin attended a large church locally called Church of the Highlands--it has a lot of resources and yet I can't find anything they did to highlight this case (which is unusual since they are very active in the community). Did he have any problems with people at COTH? Was Justin's fiance with him the night he was killed?

 

[allyoucantleavebehind]

This other video was released in 2019.

This video you posted is so much clearer and better than the new one they released, where all the faces are blurred. I wish the media would reshare the 2019 video. I wonder why LE is distributing this one? Is it because the faces weren't blurred in the clearer 2019 one?

 

[allyoucantleavebehind]

One article I read said he was last seen getting into "a vehicle". To me that sounds like it wasn't his vehicle, so I wonder who he left with? I also saw a comment on one of the articles that Marty's PM is known to be LGBT friendly. I'm not implying anything about Justin, but this crime seems to be "over-kill" with him being shot multiple times. Heartbreaking no matter the circumstances.

Marty's PM is just cool with all kinds of people--it's a genuinely welcoming space. And they do play a role in the annual Gay Pride parade but non-LGBTQ persons go there often as well.

Justin's Facebook page has a profile photo with a girl that also shows up in his other photos so I don't think he is gay? Or not publicly so? This girl is also featured on his cover page.

Wondering what friends were with him that night. Hoping for justice for Justin. This is really sad--he has family that loves him and he looks like a fun-loving guy who likes to travel and go on outdoors adventures. He even had long hair a few years ago.

 

[InsightAL]

I feel like this case has gotten so little coverage in Birmingham. Now it's a Cold Case. Hoping to get justice for Justin.

What we know from LE:

• Justin was last seen getting into a white, newer model sedan leaving Marty’s PM on Sunday around 2:50 a.m on 10th Court South.
• The driver of the vehicle was a white male.
• Justin had his cell phone and wallet with him when he got into the car; multiple calls placed later placed to his cell phone were directed straight to voicemail.
  
• On Monday around 11:30 pm, Justin was found dead in an alley near a shed about 60 feet off of 11th Avenue North. after being shot several times. This is not far from where he got into the car.
• Justin did not have a wallet or an ID on him when he was found.

Thoughts and questions:

• Marty PM's is located in Southside, near other bars and a sort of entertainment district. How long was Justin in the car?
• Did LE ever recover Justin's phone?
• If his cell phone is still missing, would LE have any way of noting if he had used Uber or Lyft? (The way he got into that car sounds like an Uber/Lyft arrangement; and Uber/Lyft drivers make a lot of money near Marty's on weekends.)
• Were any of his cards used (i.e. was this a robbery)?
• LE has not mentioned whether he was physically or sexually assaulted in addition to being shot. How many times was he shot? Where the shots closer to a targeted execution or an angry mess with lots of bullets?
• Was he shot in the alley or just dumped there?
• Did he have any enemies? What friends was he seeing that night? Justin attended a large church locally called Church of the Highlands--it has a lot of resources and yet I can't find anything they did to highlight this case (which is unusual since they are very active in the community). Did he have any problems with people at COTH? Was Justin's fiance with him the night he was killed?

 

[InsightAL]

Justin was a very good guy. He mentored younger people when in high school. He loved sports and actively participated in Church. He was a young professional who was in the medical sales and fitness field. He was also recently engaged to and lived with a woman he went to kindergarten with.

Justin was at the Marty's bar hanging out with a couple of friends. I am unsure if he rode there with the friends or met them at the bar. Justin hopped into a white Volkswagon Passatt close to 3 AM that had parked out front in view of cameras. A white male believed to be in his 20's or 30's was the driver of the car. The footage was too grainy to get a tag number or facial identification of the driver. Justin's body was found with multiple gun shot wounds in an over grown back alley in a bad area/the hood. Whoever dumped him there most likely had connection to the area. The driver of the Volkswagon has never been found.

There are many theories I could think of, but I would want to rule out one first.

When I think of a white male in his 20's or 30's driving a newer model Volkswagen in Five Points on a weekend night, I theorize that this person may have been a college student or a young professional. What connection would someone like that have to the area in which Justin was found? If this driver had bad intentions in mind, why would he have pulled the car right in view of cameras? Anyone with a brain knows cameras were all over the place in Five Points.

Where would these two men be going off together a 3 AM?

Justin was an upstanding man. Why would he have left with this man? There was no Uber or Lyft ordered by Justin that night. Could it be that the man driving had been in Marty's that night and casually knew Justin?

Because of the fact that Justin was found where he was found I would definitely ask if a toxicology investigation was conducted to rule drugs out.

I would want to see that Justin had no marijuana in his system. There are a lot of young people including church goers and professionals who enjoy cannabis and don't view it as a bad thing. The world view on marijuana has changed over the years especially in the younger generation.

If drugs were ruled out, then I would focus on another theory. If not, then I would wonder if Justin left with an acquaintance who may have been a connection.

Maybe Justin's connection didn't have a supply but knew where to get it. Maybe the two drove to a place where a dealer decided to rob Justin. Maybe the driver was part of the plot. Maybe he wasn't and was just the lucky one to escape after Justin was attacked. Maybe the driver was too fearful to come forward. Maybe the driver had a reputation to protect. He may be afraid of losing friends, family or even a career if it was found out that he was with Justin trying to buy some weed when Justin was attacked. He may feel bad about it, but wants to protect himself over reporting it.

If Justin had any drugs in his system, I would consider that theory over all others.

If I were LE, I would have contacted Volkswagen with photos and footage of the car to get their help narrowing down the year or year ranges of that particular car's manufacture date. I would then look to see if the state of Alabama had a database of all titles for white Volkswagon Passatts matching a specific year or range. I would first focus on owners who were young white males living in Jefferson County and nearby counties and search titles that may have changed soon after the murder. That may lead to someone who may have sold or traded the car in or just someone who had some common connection to Justin. If someone stood out, I would even check to see if they changed their phone number or moved during the time frame of Justin's death.

It just seems to me that two young clean cut males driving around together after 3 AM other than to go home is fishy. Evidently, going home was not happening in this case. I would imagine if they did travel into a bad area, they would have stuck out like sore thumbs too. Why would they go there unless they were up to something? I doubt that Justin was murdered very far from where he was found. Who would want to travel a long distance with a body in their vehicle? It's possible, but I have doubts on that. There were probably no cameras around that alley way either. Whoever left him there knew that area and knew no cameras were around.

If the man driving Justin wasn't part of a robbery plot then pray he one day finds the decency to report the truth. He could send something anonymously to the detectives of this investigation.

This is a tragic story and Justin's family deserves closure.

 

[dotr]

Nov 26 2020
Arrest!
BPD: Cold case arrest in 2018 murder of Justin Lett
''BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham police have arrested Cameron Cook, 29, of Birmingham in connection with the cold case murder of Justin Lett in 2018.''

''At the time of detectives receiving an arrest warrant from the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, detectives discovered Cook was already in custody at the Jefferson County Jail for capital murder in 2018, not connected with Justin Lett. Details on what led the investigation to Cook are not clear at this time and detectives say they will continue to pursue justice for Justin Lett and his family.''

Arrest in cold case of Birmingham man’s murder

Cameron Cook (Source: Birmingham Police Department)
Cook is accused of killing 55-year-old Denise Fassel of Birmingham.

 

[dotr]

Oddly, the person who picked up Justin was described as a white male in earlier reports..rbbm.
NEW VIDEO: Officers release new video evidence in Birmingham man’s violent death
''BPD’s Cold Case Unit released video that shows a white, newer model sedan leaving Marty’s PM around 2:50 a.m. Officers say Lett was last seen getting into the car on 10th Court South.
Officers say the driver was a white male.''

Nov 26 2020