Family members sue suspect for deaths

Published 12:00 am Friday, February 6, 2004

The Marengo County family of a daughter and a grandmother killed during an apparent burglary has filed a wrongful death suit in the case.

Attorney John M. Gibbs filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Wanda and Candice Little against Michael Landrum Tuesday in Marengo County Courthouse.

Wanda Little is the mother of the deceased 3-year-old Makayla Little. Candice Little is the daughter of the deceased 52-year-old Ida Mae Little.

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According to the suit, the two women are seeking punitive damages for the wrongful deaths of their certain loved ones by Landrum. Landrum has entered a plea of not guilty to four counts of capital murder.

Defense Attorney Dennis Knizley entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Landrum for the two counts of capital murder during burglary armed with a deadly weapon and one count of the capital murder of a child, and the capital murder of two or more persons.

The two victims were discovered the morning of August 21 in the older victim’s trailer, located at County Road 44 and Cougar Lane. They were both shot, said Tommie Reese, chief deputy with the Marengo County Sheriff’s Department.

Landrum is said to have acted as an accomplice to Eric Napier in the murder and is Makayla’s father. According to authorities, two other children, a 9-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, were in the trailer at the time of the attack.

The children were unharmed. The 9-year-old boy was traumatized by the event and the court has yet to decide if he will testify.

The arrest report states that Landrum was employed as a foreman with Georgia Pacific in Pennington, Ala. He received notoriety as the first black quarterback to play for the University of Alabama in a Sept. 29, 1979, game against Vanderbilt. Napier is from Lisman, Ala.