Alabama man charged with murder after woman found in trash bag along I-59
TUSCALOOSA, AL – A missing persons case in West Alabama escalated into a homicide investigation after a 23-year-old woman was found dead along a highway, with authorities alleging she was strangled inside her apartment before her body was discarded in a trash bag.
Randall Lendell Dejourney, 44, is charged with murder in the death of Karen Hollis, who was reported missing May 8 and discovered by family members on May 16 in Greene County. Investigators with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office allege Dejourney killed Hollis inside her apartment, then transported and disposed of her remains along Interstate 59.
A judge ordered Dejourney held without bond following a May 26 probable cause hearing. Court records indicate investigators tied him to the timeline of Hollis’ disappearance through video evidence and cellphone data.
Investigation details and conflicting account
According to investigators, Dejourney was with Hollis at her apartment on May 8. Surveillance video allegedly showed him leaving and later returning carrying a blue tote container with a trash bag. Authorities said phone data from both individuals showed “simultaneous movement” along I-59, where Hollis’ body was later found.
Inside the apartment, investigators reported finding blood in the bathroom. Dejourney allegedly told detectives Hollis had taken her own life. He claimed she hanged herself and that he placed her body in a trash bag afterward, but findings from the medical examiner contradicted that account, stating “Hollis’ injuries were not consistent with hanging.”
An autopsy determined Hollis died of asphyxiation and ruled the manner of death a homicide. Charges against Dejourney were upgraded from abuse of a corpse to murder following those findings.
Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Captain Jack Kennedy said Dejourney and Hollis were not closely connected. “Dejourney and Hollis were acquaintances,” Kennedy told reporters, adding that the suspect was a friend of one of Hollis’ neighbors. Authorities said a motive has not yet been determined.
Timeline traced through digital evidence
Investigators said the case relied heavily on electronic data and witness accounts. Hollis’ family ultimately located her remains while “searching an area identified through recovered electronic evidence,” according to deputies.
Authorities had earlier discovered Hollis’ phone several miles away in a location initially believed to be the site of a car crash. That discovery prompted her to be reported missing to Northport Police on May 8.
“Early in the investigation, evidence suggested that foul play may have been involved,” officials said.
Family members told local media that Hollis’ Life360 app tracked her movements early the morning she disappeared. The app recorded her leaving her Northport apartment at 4:25 a.m., traveling south through downtown before reaching Interstate 20. It also recorded “hard braking” at 4:42 a.m.
Her boyfriend, Zackary Slaughter, said he had been communicating with her shortly before she vanished. “The last thing she texted me was saying she was going to the store to get a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup,” Slaughter said.
Investigators said they executed multiple search warrants and collected “extensive physical, witness, and electronic evidence” throughout the case. Dejourney was identified as a person of interest early in the investigation and was taken into custody after Hollis’ body was found.
Court records show prosecutors also cited a prior arrest involving domestic violence with strangulation as part of the case background. Dejourney remains in the Tuscaloosa County Jail without bond, and his next court appearance has not been announced.
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