Julian Taylor Morris arrested in 2024 Birmingham murder case

Authorities have arrested 33-year-old Julian Taylor Morris in connection with the 2024 murder of Deundray Cottrell in Birmingham, Alabama. Morris, a resident of Jonesboro, Georgia, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals in Miami, Florida.

Cottrell, a 31-year-old doctoral student from Atlanta, disappeared on July 4, 2024, while visiting family in Birmingham. Following a search that included reviewing surveillance footage and locating clothing items, his body was discovered inside a shed on July 6, 2024. At the time of the initial investigation, police noted that Morris was the last person to see or hear Cottrell alive and suggested the two may have been in a romantic relationship.

Morris has been charged with murder and is currently held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center pending extradition to Alabama.