Man convicted in fatal stabbing of Tuscumbia high school coach
By Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com The Huntsville Times /storypackage /#article_inset Article
Lauderdale County, AL
A Lauderdale County jury convicted Jeremy Williams of intentional murder in the 2013 slaying of Deshler High School coach Brioni Rutland.
Williams, 31, of Florence was charged with capital murder, but the jury convicted him of a lesser offense on Saturday night, WHNT reported.
According to court testimony, the volunteer football coach for the Tuscumbia high school was stabbed more than 70 times, shot in the eye during a fight over a gambling debt. He was then dumped into the Tennessee River.
Williams claimed he acted in self-defense after Rutland attacked him and tried to cut off one of his fingers. The prosecution disputes those claims, accusing Williams of taking $1,100 from Rutland before throwing his body off Old Railroad Bridge in Sheffield.
The date of a sentencing hearing wasn't immediately available.