DECATUR PD: Woman charged with murder following two separate death investigations

DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) – A woman is facing two murder charges following two separate death investigations, according to the Decatur Police Department.

On Aug. 25, Decatur police officers responded to a stabbing call at a home on Ororke Lane. An adult man was found with multiple lacerations. At the time, the man was taken to Huntsville Hospital for treatment.

Police say a woman, identified as Mary Hughes, was also at the home when they arrived. Following an investigation, Hughes was charged with domestic violence – assault and taken to the Morgan County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

Hughes bonded out on Aug. 28.

On Aug. 31, officers responded to a call about an assault on Line Street and Market Street. The report said that a woman had attacked an elderly woman with a hammer before leaving the scene in a vehicle. Witnesses were able to follow her until officers arrived.

The injured woman was identified as Mimi Marquette. She was taken to Huntsville Hospital for treatment. While on scene, officers were able to identify the suspect again as Hughes.

She was arrested and charged with first-degree assault. She was again taken to the Morgan County Jail and her bond was set to $50,000.

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On Sunday, Sept. 1 officers found a dead man inside his home. Through an investigation, the man was identified as James Jefferson. He was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for an autopsy, which later determined homicide was the cause of death. The investigation remained ongoing.

Officers received a call on Thursday, Sept. 5, that Marquette had died from her injuries. Hughes’s bond was raised to $100,000 and her charge was changed to murder. The investigation into Jefferson’s death also revealed that Hughes was a suspect in his murder as well.

On Thursday, Hughes was charged with an additional count of murder, and given a bond of $200,000 for that charge.

Hughes now remains in the Morgan County Jail on a $300,000 bond and is charged with two counts of murder.

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