By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

A murder charge against a Columbiana man accused of killing 18-year-old Haleigh Green of Shelby has been upgraded to a capital murder charge.

A capital murder warrant was issued for Demarcus Lamar Means, 19, for “the facts at issue” in the case, according to a motion filed on Aug. 27 by Shelby County Assistant District Attorney Roger Hepburn.

Means is set to appear for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8:30 a.m. at the Shelby County Courthouse in front of Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves, according to court documents.

U.S. Marshals located and arrested Means in Los Angeles on July 21 following a manhunt that lasted nearly a week after the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, obtained a murder warrant for Means on July 14 in connection with Green’s death.

Means was released from the Los Angeles County Jail on July 29 to the custody of SCSO investigators, who transported Means to Alabama.

Initially, Means was booked into the Shelby County Jail on a $500,000 bond and was transported to the St. Clair County Jail in Ashville on July 30 due to the impact the case has had on the local community, pending bond and court appearances in Shelby County.

Means is now being held on no bond, according to court documents.

Investigators located Green’s body near her car in a wooded area near Shelby County 315 on the morning of July 11, several days after Green was reported missing from home and her college classes.

Preliminary reports indicated Green had been fatally shot with a revolver.