In a major breakthrough, the Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall revealed Friday that two individuals have been indicted for the 2015 murder of Eric Cates in Walker County. Joshua Franklin Hill, 33, and Cyrena Cheyenne Styles, 28, both residents of Walker County, were each indicted on one count of murder. The indictments were served and the defendants were arrested on Friday, Oct. 13.
The shocking incident took place on March 21, 2015, when Eric Cates and his loyal dog, Gypsy, were found deceased in the Empire community. The case had remained unsolved for over eight years.
The Attorney General’s Office, in collaboration with the Sumiton Police Department and former agents of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, presented compelling evidence to a Walker County grand jury on October 5, 2023. This led to the indictment of Hill and Styles on murder charges.
Following the indictments, Styles was apprehended by the Sumiton Police Department, while Hill was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.
Walker County Judge Joeletta Barrentine on Monday ordered Joshua Hill to be held without bond after an Aniah’s Law hearing, which allows violent offenders to be held without bond. Cyrena Styles is scheduled to appear before a judge on Friday for a bond hearing.
If convicted of murder, a Class A felony, both Hill and Styles could face a range of punishment from a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 99 years or life imprisonment.
Due to the possibility of additional suspects, authorities are unable to release any further information about the investigation or the alleged crimes committed by the defendants at this time.
The news of the arrests brought a mix of emotions for Eric Cates’ mother, Tobbie Stover, who in a phone interview with The Community Journal on Monday expressed gratitude to those who supported her family throughout the arduous 8 1/2-year journey for justice. Stover specifically thanked Alabama State Attorney General Steve Marshall, his investigators, legal team, and staff, as well as Sumiton Chief of Police TJ Burnett and the Sumiton Police Department for their efforts in making these arrests possible.
“I am so thankful for their work,” she said. “I felt like no one in law enforcement wanted to help us for a long time, but since the attorney general’s office took over the investigation in January, they have done so much. I am also thankful that Joshua Hill is being held without bond, because he’s a menace and has threatened so many witnesses and made people scared to come forward. He’s done things before Eric and he’s done more things since Eric. He needs to be behind bars for the safety of the community.”
