A holiday turned tragic…
On the Fourth of July, two members of the Atlanta dance trio Skiiboyz — Deundray Cottrell (pictured above, left) and his romantic/dancing partner Julian Morris (above, right) — were in Birmingham, spending some time with family for the holiday. Cottrell, 31, was visiting his sister and decided to bring along Morris, also 31, for the festivities, but that’s when things turned SO confusing! And very, very sketchy.
The night of the fourth, around 9 p.m., Cottrell’s sister Angelica Harris told local outlet 11Alive her brother went inside to check on the dogs when fireworks started going off. Heartbreakingly, this would be the last time she’d see her sibling alive, as he suddenly disappeared! Morris, who reportedly was the only one who knew anything about his partner’s whereabouts allegedly waited a whole HOUR before telling Harris what happened. Per reports, he eventually revealed her brother had supposedly jumped out a window and left.
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Obviously Cottrell’s family found this a little suspicious — we mean, why would he jump out a window and vanish?? But the suspicions don’t stop there…
Harris told the outlet that after Morris told her what happened, the whole family banded together to search for the missing dancer. That is, everyone but the very one that said he jumped out of a window. She claimed while everyone was rushing around to find their loved one, Morris stayed behind, seemingly unbothered:
“Everyone was searching, he was eating.”
WTF?! His partner went missing, and while everyone else is searching for him, he stayed behind to have some dinner?? So odd… Did he think this was typical behavior? Hmm.
The missing man’s sister asked Morris to leave since he wasn’t being any help, and that was that. He reportedly hasn’t been seen or heard from since. While searching for her brother after she kicked his partner out, Harris also claims to have found Ring doorbell camera footage showing Cottrell’s last moments. According to WVTM13, the dancer is seen entering someone’s backyard and staying along the edges of the perimeter. He then reportedly jumps a fence and falls, before getting back up and walking out of frame.
While speaking to AL.com about the footage, Harris said:
“It looked like he was looking for refuge. He was running for his life.”
What in the world…
Two days later, Cottrell’s body would sadly be found in a shed in Birmingham. His cause of death has not been revealed, but police HAVE ruled the case a homicide. His missing partner, Morris, has still not been found, questioned, or charged with anything — but he has been named a person of interest.
The Birmingham Police Department is seeking public assistance in locating Morris, describing him as a Black male who is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 160 lbs. Anyone with any information regarding his whereabouts is being asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Absolutely horrifying. We hope Deundray’s family can get answers and justice for him soon. May he rest in peace.
[Image via Birmingham Police Department]
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