FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
August 25, 2015
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
AG ANNOUNCES CAPITAL MURDER CONVICTION OF
SHELBY COUNTY MAN FOR KILLING HIS GRANDMOTHER
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange announced the conviction
yesterday of a Shelby County man for capital murder in the brutal killing of his grandmother
during a first-degree burglary. Daniel Scott Gentry, 27, formerly of Chelsea, pleaded guilty to the
capital murder of Carrie Elaine Gentry, 64, who was killed March 28, 2012 at her home on
Chelsea Road. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
According to information presented by prosecutors, Ms. Gentry’s son reported to the
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office on March 29, 2012 that she was missing. A search was conducted,
but she could not be located. An investigation determined that Daniel Gentry was the last person
to see her alive. Although he did not live in his grandmother’s home, Daniel Gentry did live on
her property. The investigation also discovered blood in several areas of Ms. Gentry’s home,
some of which was matched by DNA to Ms. Gentry.
On April 12, 2012, Ms. Gentry’s car was located in a quarry on Shale Road. Her body was
found in the vehicle rolled up inside a rug. An autopsy revealed multiple lacerations to her head
with some accompanying depressed skull fractures, a stab wound to her stomach, multiple
defensive wounds to her hands, and a fracture of her spine. She also had injuries consistent with
strangulation. The blunt force injuries to her head and the strangulation were the causes of death.
As the investigation progressed, Daniel Gentry was interviewed and confessed to the
murder of his grandmother in her home. He also admitted that he cleaned up the house and
disposed of her body in the quarry.
“This murder was a terrible violation of human decency that horrifies us all,” said
Attorney General Strange. “At the very least, justice demands that he spend the rest of his life in
prison, as provided by today’s sentence.”
Attorney General Strange commended those involved in handling this case, noting in
particular Assistant Attorneys General Stephanie Billingslea, Division Chief, Leigh Gwathney,
Bill Lisenby and Kelly Godwin, all of his Criminal Trials Division, and Victims Service Officer
Ashley Harbin of the Attorney General’s Office of Victim Assistance. He also thanked the Shelby
County Sheriff’s Office for its investigation.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
