From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
BESSEMER — The man charged in connection to the case of Trussville woman Paighton Houston has been released from the Jefferson County Jail a week after he was granted bond.
Fredrick Hampton, 50, of Brighton, who is charged with abuse of a corpse after Houston’s body was found buried behind a Hueytown home, was released from the jail at 12:01 p.m. on Monday, March 16. Hampton was captured in Cleveland, Ohio, by the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force on Wednesday, Jan. 29. He was extradited to Jefferson County on Feb. 13.
It should be noted that Hampton is not charged with the death of Houston.
Chief Deputy David Agee said according to the medical examiner, no trauma was found on Houston’s body that would have led to her death. Investigators said they have reason to believe Houston was in the company of the suspect on the night of Friday, Dec. 20, 2019.
Investigators said there is no evidence Houston was taken against her will or by force.
Jefferson County Coroner Bill Yates said that toxicology reports in the death of Houston revealed that she died of an accidental drug overdose. The cause of death was determined to be Morphine and methamphetamine toxicity and the manner of death was determined to be accidental.
Hampton is a convicted sex offender, and he has previous convictions for first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy, among other charges, according to court documents. The rape and sodomy case, from 1992, was out of Jefferson County. Hampton was released from prison in 2012 and was later arrested for violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which he pleaded guilty to. He was given a two years suspended sentence for that charge.
According to Alabama Code 13A-11-13, abuse of a corpse crime means a person “knowingly treats a human corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities.”
If convicted, a person charged with abuse of a corpse could be sentenced to more than a year in prison.
