Date: 01/14/2020
Title: Press Release – Fort Payne Police Department
On January 13, Robert Joseph Hairell, age 22 of Rainsville, was arrested on a grand jury warrant for murder. These charges stem from a vehicle accident that resulted in the death of Barbara Appleton Burgess, age 77 of Fort Payne. The accident occurred May 28, 2019 at the intersection of Alabama Avenue NW and 13th Street N. This accident was investigated by the Fort Payne Police Department and the Alabama Department of Forensic Science. Fort Payne Police Investigators Andy Hairston and Mike Grant collected the evidence and it was turned over to the Dekalb County District Attorneys Office who presented it to the grand jury.
