By BRIANA HARRIS / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – A Shelby County grand jury has indicted a 36-year-old Calera man for the murder of his wife. He’s accused of leaving her to die after running her over with his vehicle.

Kenneth Thomas Young was indicted on Oct. 25 on charges of murder, reckless murder and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.

On Sunday, June 26, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the 400 block of East Milgray Lane in Calera at about 12:30 a.m., where Calera police officers were already investigating a suspicious death.

Deputies found 31-year-old Christen Nichole Carr dead at the residence, and Young, her husband, was charged with her murder.

After further investigation, deputies determined the events leading to her death occurred at another location in unincorporated Shelby County. SCSO deputies arrested Young on June 27 based on witness statements, physical evidence and probable cause.

Recently released court documents do not specify where the crime took place, just that Young intentionally caused Carr’s death “by driving a vehicle in a reckless manner thereby striking the victim.”

The indictment states that Young did not immediately stop his vehicle and remain at the scene of the accident and “did not render any aid” to Carr, who was a mother of two.

Young has a lengthy criminal history dating back to Sept. 28, 1998, according to court documents. He has been arrested and charged about 49 different times in multiple jurisdictions within the state.

The arrests and charges include multiple felony and misdemeanor offenses. He has been convicted on four charges of domestic violence, several charges for reckless endangerment, theft of property, drug possession and smuggling contraband into jail/prison.

Court documents state Young is also the subject of a protection from abuse order that is pending in Montgomery County, as of June 27.

The District Attorney’s Office cited his criminal history and his five previous incidents of failure to appear as evidence to give Young a higher-than-normal bond. He has been held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $1.5 million since his arrest in June.

Young’s arraignment has been set for Nov. 28.

According to Alabama state law, murder is a Class A felony, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Leaving the scene of an accident with death is a Class C felony, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.