Former Teacher Gets Charged With Capital Murder For Gunning Down 11-Year-Old In A Turkey-Hunting Accident

A former middle school teacher from Alabama, who was accused of killing a student in a Turkey hunting accident in Jefferson County was slapped with upgraded criminal charges on Friday.

Joshua Stewart Burks, 36 was initially facing charges of reckless manslaughter after his bullet fatally pierced through Troy Ellis, an 11-year-old student. Now, he faces upgraded charges to capital murder of a person below 14 and was released on Friday after posting a $60,000 bond.

The fateful incident occurred at around 9 a.m. on May 1 at an event curated by a group, America’s Heroes Enjoying Recreation Outdoors. The group hosts various hunts for wounded veterans like Burks, where The Cahaba Elementary School fifth-grader and his father Obed Ellis was present.

While there has been no complete disclosure of what led to the act, a lawsuit filed by the deceased student’s family alleged that Burks had overdosed on pain pills the night before, which in turn rendered him “likely not capable of safely handling a firearm, and [he] certainly was not capable of making appropriate decisions with regard to handling a weapon,” said the suit. The lawsuit, however, was settled in October.

“We are disappointed the grand jury saw the case differently than the magistrate and the district attorney’s office that originally charged the case as manslaughter,” said Spina to a media outlet, after the announcement of the new charges came through. “The events that occurred that day were devastating on many levels, and our sympathies are with the family of the young man that lost his life in what we believe was a tragic hunting accident.”