The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld a Madison County capital murder conviction, according to an announcement from Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office.
David Telton Tolbert, 51, of Toney, was convicted of capital murder in Madison County Circuit Court on May 8, 2025. The conviction and sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole were affirmed on appeal in a decision issued January 30, 2026.
According to the Attorney General’s release, trial evidence showed Tolbert had been married to the victim for approximately two years at the time of the killing. Prosecutors presented evidence that the victim had sought mental health treatment on numerous occasions.
On November 15, 2022, the victim was found alone in the passenger seat of a vehicle with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Authorities initially believed the death may have been a suicide.
Investigators said that on the day of the death, Tolbert told co-workers that his wife planned to wait outside while he handled work-related matters. He later returned and told co-workers she had committed suicide in his car.
A subsequent investigation found the marriage was extremely troubled. Authorities reported no blood was found inside the vehicle where the body was discovered, no suicide note was located, and no fingerprints were recovered from the gun at the scene.
The medical examiner determined the victim had been shot in the back of the head and said the forensic evidence did not match what is typically seen in suicide cases. A police investigator testified at trial that he had never investigated a suicide involving a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
The case was prosecuted by Madison County District Attorney Robert Broussard’s office, which secured a guilty verdict. The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division represented the state during the appeal and argued that the conviction should stand.
In the release, Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Auston Neal for his work on the appeal and thanked Broussard and his staff for their assistance in defending the conviction.
