The Morrison Murders

The Morrison Murders aka The Culverhouse Murders

2011-10-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

Brief Timeline in the Culverhouse Murders of Ariton, Alabama near Ozark

By Traciy Curry-Reyes

Between Monday Sept 5, 1988 and Tuesday Sept 6, 1988

The police receive a phone call of bodies found at a home at Mcgee Rd Dale County Rd19 Rt 2, Ariton, Alabama near Ozark, Alabama in Dale County. The house sits more than 300 feet from the road. Upon arrival the police find Tullie Robert Culverhouse, Nina JoCulverhouse, and Obie Lee Culverhouse brutally murdered in their home.

Crime Scene Findings

Tullie Robert Culverhouse is 47 years old. His body is found in the hallway with gunshot wounds to the thigh, lower back, and the side of the temple.

Nina Jo Culverhouse is 45 years old. Her body is found in her master bedroom. There is a gunshot blast to the door of her bedroom. There are gunshot wounds to the arm, leg, and neck.

Obie Lee Culverhouse is19 years old. He is found in his bed with a gunshot wound to the back of his neck.

Photos and videos are taken of the crime scene.The gun, a 16 gauge shot gun, is found in the basement. One gun shell is also recovered from the scene. There is a total of 10 shots. The gunman had picked up as many shells as he could. There is no arrest made in the case due to lack of evidence. The case goes cold for the next 4 years.

Saturday September 14, 1988
The Culverhouse family is laid to rest. The funeral takes place at the Center Ridge Baptist Church.

February 1993 The Arrest

Jason Culverhouse who has not been in contact with his brother since the murders, calls his brother Robin Culverhouse out of the blue. The two talk about the trucking business, and the financial difficulties that he is having. Robin has always suspected that his brother Jason had something to do with the murders. He calls the police to talk to police about the conversation that he had with Jason. The police have Robin set up 2 meetings with Jason to see if he will confess. The police school Robin on what to say to his brother to get him to open up. At the first meeting, Jason seems to sense something, and denies any part of the murder. But, at the second meeting he makes his brother strip to see if he is wired. (the wire is in his hat) When he does not find a recorder he speaks more freely, and he eventually confesses to killing his parents. The police have the confession recorded.

March 1993 the Confession

Jason Hunter Culverhouse is arrested in Oklahoma City, Ok at a truck stop. Then he is returned to Alabama. He is 23 years old. He confesses to the police and writes a confession. He is then indicted on 3 counts of capital murder. There is no motive given for why he killed his family. In part, the confession indicates that after leaving his girlfriend Amy's home, he drove to the home of his parents. He entered through a sliding door made of glass, went to the basement to retrieve the gun, then headed up stairs where he took the phone off of the hook. His first stop was his brother's bedroom. He entered the bedroom and shot and killed him. He then entered his parents room and shoots both his mother and his father. His father gets up and runs after him into the hallway where Jason shot him 2 more times until he collapsed and died. While Jason is in the hallway, his mother stumbles to the door and locks it, then picks up the phone to call 911. When Jason finds the door locked, he shoots the door to the master bedroom open, and then he shoots and kills his mother.

At Trial

The jurors and the family members have a hard time listening to the gruesome details of the murder scene and the details of the confession. Jason sits at the defense table motionless, not looking at anyone, not showing any emotion until the prosecution details how he blasted the door open to kill his mother. Jason then puts his head down on the defense table. He is sentence to life in prison without parole in May 1993.

Extra Tidbits
The Culverhouse name is well known in Ariton, Alabama. They are farmers. Some of the family members still own and run trucking businesses to this day.

There are photos of their resting place at Findagrave

Jason Hunter Culverhouse has a son. He also married several years back. Those who see him regularly say that he has changed his life while incarcerated. He is housed at St. Clair County Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama.

Someone in the family sold the rights to the story to movie producers.

The Classmates Story

2008-02-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a statement by a former classmate. He or she gives a little background info on the family and the city of Ozark.

I knew the real life killer that the movie is based on., 30 January 2005 Author: cacoffinjr from United States *** This comment may contain spoilers *** I went to high school with him and sat next to him in several classes our senior year due to the fact that our last names were close alphabetically. I felt the movie did a good job telling the story. Only a few major changes were made from the real story (Names were changed.) The real life killer was a much better dresser. He took a lot of pride in his appearance and was always dressed in a button-down shirt not the t-shirts of the movie. The entire town of Ozark, Alabama was socked when the murders happened in the summer of 1988. We were in between high school and college that summer. The real life killer was the member of a popular trio of brothers. I think that he was jealous of their success. He had shot part of his foot off hunting many years before and was never the athlete or ladies man like his brothers. It never occurred to me that he was capable of such a diabolical murder. However, thinking back I now see some clues. He had an anger problem. I remember that he told me once how he beat up another car driver in a case of road rage on the way back from Auburn, Alabama to the point of unconsciousness. I can still remember the morning after the murder. The entire town was shocked and believed that the mafia had to be involved. I went to see him that day but he was sedated. It took many years before the authorities were able to pin the murder on him. I think the final confession to his other brother is fairly accurate from what I read in the papers. I think that he has a sentence of life imprisonment. His wife and child will never see him outside of prison. It has been a long time since I have seen the movie but I want to write the facts of the murders. He came home from his girl friends's house late that night. His family was asleep. He had left the back sliding door unlocked. He came in and took one of the phones off the hook. He picked up one of his shotguns and loaded it. He went into the room belonging to his brother who was home from Troy State University. He shot him in the head while sleeping. His father heard the noise and came down the hallway. He shot his father in the hallway. His mother was looking from the bedroom and tried to shut the door. As she was shutting the door, he shot her hand. She locked the door and tried to use the phone in the bedroom to call for help. He had taken the phone off the hook so it was hopeless. He shot his own mother in cold blood. I have heard that she was holding a bible with her one good hand. I'm not sure if that is true. He cleaned his shotgun and put it back in the case. He picked up the empty shells. He missed one that landed between the headboard and wall in his brother's room. That eventually was his downfall. He went back to his girlfriend's house and went back to sleep without her parents knowing that he was gone. She lived toward Auburn so that he slept on the couch at her parents place when they had a date. They married not too long after the murders. A wife does not have to testify against her husband! People in Ozark began to get suspicious when he refused to take a lie detector machine. I think it took 3 or 4 years before he confessed to his brother. I know that the FBI did have snipers trained on him in case he found out that his brother was wired. One of the worst tragedies to ever hit my home town. I believe that I read his family members got $250,000 for the rights to the story.

Son Murders Entire Family (old cases)

2008-02-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

Some older more cases about sons who have murdered their families.The following cases are not based on the movie or the true story above.

In August 1911 at 22 year old man named William Lee, sometimes referred to in history as William Leo, crushed the skulls of his father, mother, and younger brother. Afterwards he set the house on fire. He was arrested on the same day that he was to be married to Mina Taylor. When he was arrested he stated that he woke up to the sound of a noise and the house in flames. He ran from the house, and attempted to return to the house to save his family. Investigators found that all of his father's important insurance papers had vanished from the area where they were kept. William Lee eventually admitted that he was responsible for killing his father. He stated that upon finding that his father had murdered both his mother and brother, that he fought with him and murdered his father in self defense. The evidence in the case suggested that he murdered his family because he was angry with his father for not giving him money for the upcoming nuptials. His family was opposed to him marrying Mina Taylor. The murders occurred in Booneville, Indiana.The victims were Richard Lee (the father) Clarence Lee (the brother) and the mother's name is unknown at this time.

Sunday, April 19, 1992 Fresno, California, Rich Kid Had Parents and Sister Murdered for Inheritance Money

The last time Dana Ewell saw his parents alive was on Easter Sunday. He asked a neighbor to check on the house. The neighbor found the father Dale Ewell, The mother Glee Ewell, and the sister Tiffany Ewell dead in the home. It appeared they had been shot execution style. They were killed after they returned from the beach.

The police thought that is was a burglary gone bad, but the evidence showed that it was an execution style murder made to look like a burglary. The burglary. When the police informed Dana Ewell that his family had been murdered he seemed unemotional. Dana inspected the house along with the police, and the police noticed that he was not moved when he saw the blood stained carpet. He did become upset that a lamp had been partially damaged. To onlookers Dana Ewell was not sad one bit. He spent bucket loads of money after the funerals. He did have an alibi, he was four hours away at the time of his murder. During the police investigation, it was discovered that the killer used ammunition from the home. After the murder, Dana's friend, Joel Radovcich moved into the family home. Dana denied knowing Joel. Police investigators kept the two men under surveillance. An investigation into Dana Ewell's background revealed that he was obsessed with money and riches, and that he conspired with Joel to murder his family for the inheritance money. He also agreed to split the money with Joel. Police believe that Joel shot the two women first, and then shot Dale last. They were arrested in 1995. Dana Ewell was convicted of the murder of his parents and his sister. He was sentenced to three life sentences in 1998.