1988 killing case heads to grand jury

General District Judge William G. Barkley had just finished saying that he would certify murder and other charges against Alvin Lee “Butch” Morris when an entire section of the courtroom stood up and clapped.

A bailiff quickly hushed the group, which was made up of family members of Roger L. Shifflett. Morris was charged with first-degree murder, robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony earlier this year in connection with Shifflett’s shooting death more than 20 years ago.

Barkley said in court that he certified the charges against Morris because of inconsistent statements Morris made to police from 1988 and earlier this year about his ownership of a gun and a confession reportedly made to Morris by an employee of Shifflett’s store. During court Thursday, authorities also discussed a DNA match between Morris and a cigarette butt found in front of the store.

The certification was welcome news to Tracy Alford, who was 14 years old when his uncle was killed. Alford said the court process has been helpful to the family.

“There really has been no answer until now,” Alford said. “It is closure.”

On the morning of June 20, 1988, Albemarle police were called to the Southwind Gas and Grocery store on Route 20, south of Charlottesville, after Steve Stover found his boss had fallen victim to what appeared to be a robbery. Shifflett had been shot in the back of the head, and all of the dollar bills had been taken from the register.

Albemarle police officers who worked the scene testified that they collected fingerprints that day, as well as some cigarette butts found outside.

“All of the ones I collected appeared to be new,” testified Scott Kuykendall, who is now retired from the police department.

Albemarle police Detective Phil Giles met with Morris twice this year, taking a DNA sample from him in February. The detective said in court that he received word in May that a cigarette butt found right outside of the store had DNA on it that matched Morris’s. The brand of the cigarette — a Salem — matched the type that Diane Houchens, Morris’s former wife, said he smoked in 1988.

Morris’s mother-in-law testified in court about the smoking habits of the employees and how often Shifflett swept the parking lot. Based on what she said, Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford said in court that there was no indication that Morris was there the day before the shooting, and the cigarette butt that was a DNA match for Morris was the only one in front of the store the day that Shifflett was found shot.

Houchens testified in court Thursday that she saw police cars and crime scene tape up at the store while she was driving to work on the morning of Shifflett’s killing. Her husband woke her up that day before her alarm, Houchens testified, explaining that he had just gone to the bathroom.

However, Giles testified Thursday that Morris told police he didn’t get up to use the bathroom that morning. Morris also initially told police that he didn’t own a small caliber gun, but he later admitted that he had given such a gun to his father and he didn’t know where it was. Authorities said an autopsy showed Shifflett had been shot with a small caliber gun. Giles also said Morris had once told police that Stover confessed to killing his boss, but Morris later said that was untrue.

Giles testified that when he asked Morris why he lied to detectives in 1988, Morris responded with a variety of phrases.

“‘I don’t know,’” testified Giles, recalling Morris’s replies. “‘I don’t have a good answer. I’m nervous.’”

Giles said Morris also made inconsistent statements to police about his relationship with Barbara Shifflett, Roger Shifflett’s widow who later married Morris. In one instance, Morris told authorities that he befriended her around the time of a February 1988 robbery, but Giles said Morris told police another time that they didn’t have a relationship before the homicide.

Morris married Barbara Shifflett less than a year after Roger Shifflett’s death, according to the couple’s marriage certificate filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court. An attorney previously connected with the case said Morris helped raise some of Roger and Barbara Shifflett’s children.

After court, defense attorney Dana Slater said she wasn’t surprised at Barkley’s ruling, and that she has a lot of hard work and investigation to do before the case goes forward.

Morris’s case will be heard Oct. 6 by a grand jury. He remains free on a $50,000 property-secured bond.