FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
July 13, 2018
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Steve Marshall
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
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Alabama Attorney General
AG STEVE MARSHALL ANNOUNCES CONVICTION
FOR CAPITAL MURDER IN BIBB COUNTY
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the capital
murder conviction of John Barry Hubbard for killing a woman whose sister had sought
a protective order against him because of his persistent threatening behavior. Hubbard,
63, of Eoline, pleaded guilty today in Bibb County Circuit Court and was sentenced to
life imprisonment without parole.
Prosecutors in Attorney General Marshall’s Criminal Trials Division were
prepared to present evidence of the following events regarding Hubbard’s murder of
Kandi Murphy during his abduction of her sister, Tammy Carpenter. Hubbard had
been in a relationship with Carpenter, the murder victim’s sister. Carpenter had sought
a protective order because she feared that he would carry out his threats of violence.
On the afternoon of July 21, 2015, Hubbard was seen by Murphy’s children as he
walked out of the woods carrying two guns and came in the back door of Carpenter’s
home in Brent. Hubbard shot Murphy multiple times in the presence of her toddler
daughter, and struck Carpenter with a firearm in the head to subdue and abduct her.
Murphy called 911 and stated, “John Barry Hubbard shot me” and that she was dying.
When officers arrived, Murphy told them that Hubbard had shot her. She was taken to
a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Evidence showed that Hubbard took Carpenter from Bibb County into the
Ocmulgee National Forest in Hale County, where he held her against her will and
raped and sodomized her. The next morning, his cousin, Gary Wade Rowland,
allegedly came and transported them from the forest to a motel in Greene County in a
room that was registered in Rowland’s name. Rowland, the cousin, also is accused of
taking and hiding the long gun on family property in Bibb County. Hubbard continued
to hold Carpenter against her will, raping and sodomizing her again. She was able to
get a message to staff at a nearby restaurant. An Alabama Law Enforcement Agency
tactical team rescued Carpenter and took Hubbard into custody on the evening of July
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The Attorney General’s Criminal Trials Division presented evidence to a Bibb
County grand jury in December of 2016, resulting in indictments against Hubbard and
Rowland. Charges are pending against Rowland* for hindering prosecution in the first
degree, a class C felony, and kidnapping in the first degree, a class A felony. Rowland,
48, is of Centreville.
Attorney General Marshall said, “This case is a heartbreaking example of the
terror and devastation suffered by domestic abuse victims. Tammy Carpenter tried to
escape from her tormentor but he still brutalized her and coldly murdered her sister
Kandi Murphy. We achieve a measure of justice by keeping John Hubbard in prison for
the rest of his life where he can no longer harm innocent people, but are reminded of
how important it is to provide support and services to victims of domestic abuse.”
The Attorney General commended those involved in bringing the Hubbard case
to a successful conclusion, noting in particular Assistant Attorneys General Andrew
Arrington and John Hensley of his Criminal Trials Division, Special Agents of his
Investigations Division and Victims Service Officer Ashley Harbin. He also thanked the
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which led the investigation.
*Regarding the case against Rowland, an indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent
unless and until proven guilty.
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