FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
July 3, 2019
For media inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Steve Marshall
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
Alabama Attorney General
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Court of Criminal
Appeals Upholds Coffee County Murder Conviction
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that on Friday the
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the murder conviction of Malcom Hunter.
Hunter, 31, of Enterprise, was convicted in Coffee County Circuit Court in May 2018 for
the murder of Ayanna Nneka Smith.
On January 21, 2017, Ayanna Smith disappeared from her home in Enterprise. She was
last seen in the company of her boyfriend, Hunter. Witnesses heard a gunshot in the
parking lot of the apartments, and Ayanna Smith was never seen again. One associate
of Hunter’s — Alec Musso — testified at Hunter’s trial that Hunter came to Musso’s
house on the date of Ayana Smith’s disappearance with what appeared to be the lifeless
body of a woman in his car. Another associate of Hunter’s — Frank Miller — testified
that Hunter came to his house on the day of Ayana Smith’s disappearance and asked
Miller to dispose of a handgun.
Coffee County District Attorney Tom Anderson’s office prosecuted this case and
obtained a guilty verdict. Hunter was sentenced as a habitual offender to life
imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals
process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the conviction.
The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, June 28. Though Smith’s body was never
found, the Court of Criminal Appeals stated that that the extensive circumstantial
evidence presented at trial “was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict that Hunter
murdered Smith . . . “
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Stephen Dodd for
his successful work on this case.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
