MONTGOMERY-Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of
Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction of
David Telton Tolbert
, 51, of Toney, for capital
murder. Tolbert was convicted in the Madison County Circuit Court on May 8, 2025.
The evidence at trial showed that at the time of the victim’s murder, Tolbert had been married
to the victim for approximately two years. The victim had sought mental health treatment on
numerous occasions. On November 15, 2022, the victim was discovered alone in the passenger
seat of a vehicle dead from a gunshot wound to the head. At first, it appeared to be a suicide.
Police investigation revealed that on the day of the murder, Tolbert told co-workers that his
wife was going to wait outside while he finished taking care of work-related issues but soon
came back inside and told co-workers that the victim committed suicide in his car. The
subsequent investigation revealed that Tolbert’s marriage was extremely troubled, and the
crime scene investigation revealed no blood in the vehicle where the victim’s body was found
nor was any suicide note found in the vehicle and there were no fingerprints found on the gun
that was recovered on the scene. The medical examiner determined the victim had been shot in
the back of the head and there was a lack of forensic evidence that would be present in a typical
suicide case. A police investigator testified that he had never investigated a suicide with a
gunshot wound to the back of the head.
Madison County District Attorney Robert Broussard’s office successfully prosecuted this case
and obtained a guilty verdict. Tolbert was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of
parole for his capital murder conviction. Tolbert sought to have his conviction reversed on
appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process,
arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm Tolbert’s conviction. The Court
did so in a decision issued Friday, January 30, 2026.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Auston Neal for his
successful work on this case and thanks District Attorney Robert Broussard and his staff for
their valuable assistance in defending the capital murder conviction.
Media Release/Steve Marshall
Alabama Attorney General
