Lexington man accused of murder says 2 others killed victim found in burning car
A Lexington resident accused of murder has said he believes two others killed the victim who was found in the trunk of a burning car in Bourbon County.
Cecil T. Russell, 36, is charged with murder and evidence tampering in the death of Lazarus R. Parker, 38, of Lexington.
Parker’s body was found on Feb. 9 by firefighters who were putting out a vehicle fire inside a barn on Hutchinson Road in Bourbon County, according to state police.
Russell was charged based on evidence and his own statements about being at the Lexington home where Parker was shot and at the barn where Parker’s body eventually was found in the burned car, Kentucky State Police detective Jeff Gaby testified Tuesday during a preliminary hearing in Fayette County District Court.
Russell admitted he was in the house and was in an argument with Parker, and Russell said he had been in the vehicle when it was taken “somewhere in the county” before it was burned, Gaby said. But Russell never told investigators he killed Parker.
A witness told investigators that Russell was inside the Dakota Street home when he got in a fight with Parker, and there were gunshots, Gaby said. Russell was caught on security camera behind a home on the street driving the vehicle that would later be burned.
Daniel Whitley, one of Russell’s attorneys, argued at Tuesday’s hearing that his client had said two other people at the home and at the barn killed Parker.
Investigators spoke with one of the two, a woman who was caught on camera buying gasoline at a gas station, Gaby said. She admitted to taking the gas back to Dakota Street before going to the barn, Gaby said.
Whitley asked why the other two people in the house and at the barn had not been charged.
Gaby said that investigators were waiting to meet with a prosecutor regarding the other people at the two scenes.
The investigation is ongoing and there are ballistics test results pending, Gaby said.
On March 3, police went to the Dakota Street residence and charged multiple people with drug trafficking and gun offenses, Whitley said. Those arrested included the two who were at the house the night of the shooting.
Russell was arrested on March 10 and charged with murder in Parker’s death, according to state police.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Whitley questioned the evidence tampering charge against Russell. When a prosecutor said that the charge stemmed from the body being burned in the car, Whitley pointed out that the car was burned in Bourbon County, not Fayette County where the case was filed.
Judge Lindsay H. Thurston found that there was enough probable cause from the evidence presented Tuesday to move Russell’s case to a grand jury, which will decide whether to indict him. If he’s indicted, Russell’s case will move to circuit court to be prepared for trial.
Russell’s bond was set at $1 million dollars before Tuesday’s hearing. Whitley pointed out that a bond amount that high is unusual in similar types of cases. Thurston lowered the bond to $300,000 full cash.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 2:46 PM.
