Man indicted in death of 11-year-old girl

Published 3:20 pm Thursday, January 22, 2009

A Shelby County grand jury has indicted an Inverness man in the death of an 11-year-old girl.

Ryan Gerald Russell, 35, is accused of shooting Katherine Helen Gillespie. He faces charges of capital murder in the death of a person under the age of 14.

No trial date has been set. Russell’s arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 23.

Russell was Gillespie’s legal guardian and second cousin. The Oak Mountain Intermediate School student was found dead June 16 in the home she shared with Russell on Kerry Downs Road. She died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Authorities also found Russell in the house, where he was unconscious. He was hospitalized and later taken into police custody.

He has been held in the Shelby County Jail without bond since then.