Dying Alabama man charged with murder after confessing to 1995 killing

‘We were scrambling to try to figure out what he was talking about,’ says Decatur Police Department detective Sean Mukaddam

Johnny Dwight Whited in police custody ((Decatur Police Department via the Associated Press))

A terminally ill man from Alabama called police to confess to a murder that had remained unsolved for more than 25 years.

Johnny Dwight Whited, 53, called the Decatur Police Department last week and told an officer that he was responsible for the unsolved homicide of 26-year-old Christopher Alvin Dailey in 1995.

Mr Dailey was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head, but the authorities were unable to solve the case, according to the New York Post.

“Despite the extensive investigation, a suspect was never developed in the case,” the department said in a statement on Thursday.

“In the years that followed, the case was revisited several times for leads,” it added.

Decatur Police Department detective Sean Mukaddam told The New York Times that Mr Whited had to be transferred twice while on the phone after confessing to the killing.

“He didn’t know the date or the year. We were scrambling to try to figure out what he was talking about,” Mr Mukaddam told the paper.

“I’ve never had a situation where I just pick up the phone and have a call like that. Nothing where the suspect calls me out of the blue and wants to confess."

Following the call last week, Mr Whited met with officers and provided information that matched evidence in the case.

Mr Whited then reenacted the killing with detectives in the wooded area where Mr Dailey’s body was found in 1995.

The department said that Mr Whited and Mr Dailey did not know each other, but declined to discuss a motive, according to the Post.

The authorities confirmed that Mr Whited is “terminally ill”, while Mr Mukaddam said that the 53-year-old was “remorseful”.

Mr Whited has been charged with murder and remains in custody on a $15,000 (£11,290) bond. Mr Dailey’s relatives have been notified of the arrest.