Member-only story
Murder of a Child in Alabama
The unsolved murder of 11-year-old Shannon Nicole Paulk.
On a warm summer day on August 16, 2001, in Prattville, Alabama Marie Stroud left her home to go to work just as she did every day leaving her two daughters behind who were still on summer vacation from school. The oldest daughter was left to babysit her younger sister, Shannon Paulk, age 11.
Shannon got up early in the morning and decided to go outside and play with her friends without telling her sister who was still asleep. When Shannon's sister awoke at 9:00 a.m. she wasn’t particularly worried about Shannon as they lived in a quiet mobile home park in a rural farming town. It wasn’t unusual for Shannon to spend the whole day away from home only to return when night fell.
Missing
When Shannon’s mother, Marie, returned home from work she expected her daughter to be home shortly. When it began to get dark and she had not returned home Marie started to worry for her daughter’s safety. By 9:00 p.m. Shannon still had not arrived home and could not be found so her mother called the police to report Shannon as missing.
The police took Marie seriously and felt Shannon had not run away from home so they immediately launched a search for the young girl. The police spoke to neighbors and searched the mobile home park as well as the surrounding areas, but their search was ultimately fruitless.
Remains Found
Almost two months later on October 6, 2001 rabbit hunters were hunting in a public hunting area near Autauga County Road when they discovered the remains of a child. The hunters immediately contacted the police to investigate the scene.
Investigators found the remains belonged to Shannon Paulk. She was found in an isolated field ten miles outside of Prattville. She had obviously been murdered and whoever had killed her had tied her body up with a rope and wrapped her up with a trash bag.
The Investigation
The police believed Shannon had most likely willingly walked away with someone. She was known to be a trusting young lady and the police felt it would have been easy to convince her to leave the area whether or not she knew the person…
