Terminally Ill Man Allegedly Calls Police, Confesses to 1995 Alabama Cold Case Murder
Terminally Ill Man Allegedly Calls Police, Confesses to 1995 Alabama Cold Case Murder
Johnny Dwight Whited's account of the 1995 killing allegedly matched evidence collected from the scene
A 53-year-old Alabama man diagnosed with a terminal illness recently came forward to help authorities clear a 25-year-old cold murder case — allegedly telling a detective, over the phone, that he was the one who pulled the trigger.
According to his arrest report, obtained by PEOPLE, Johnny Dwight Whited called the Decatur Police Department on Wednesday to get something off his chest.
Whited allegedly said he had shot Christopher Alvin Dailey back in 1995, and it was time to come clean about it.
The New York Times reports that Whited is terminally ill, and spoke to Detective Sean Mukaddam, allegedly offering up specific details about the fatal shooting only the killer could have known.
His account of the killing also allegedly matches with evidence collected from the scene.
Police did not note Dailey's age in Whited's arrest report, but confirm he was shot once and that his death was a homicide.
The arrest report also mentions that investigators were never able to identify a suspect in the case.
Decatur Police Department Johnny Dwight Whited
Whited, a resident of Trinity, was charged with one count of murder. His attorney could not be reached for comment, and it was unclear Friday if he'd been arraigned in court or asked to plead to the charge.
He's now being held on $15,000 bond.
The arrest report makes no mention of a possible motive for the murder.
Dailey was from Huntsville. A teenage boy and girl, scouting a forest for additions to her leaf collection, stumbled upon Dailey's remains.
His body was located 75 feet from a major logging road.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
After making the grim discovery, the teens alerted a nearby utility crew, who summoned police to the area.
The Times spoke to Det. Mukaddam about his conversation with Whited.
"He was remorseful," Mukaddam said, the Times reports. "He was embarrassed about certain things. He wanted to get it off his chest."
According to the Fairfield Citizen, Whited was already awaiting trial in May on a methamphetamine charge.
