CULLMAN, Ala. – The mother of Cullman murder suspect Nathan Winston Stephens was arrested Thursday, charged with first-degree hindering prosecution. Audrey Cofield Smith, 61, of Welti was taken into custody by officers with the Cullman Police Department, Cullman County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Smith is being held in the Cullman County Detention Center.
Stephens, 43, who is being sought by authorities in Cullman in connection with the Sept. 12 murder of Herndon Self, Jr., 56, of Hanceville, was denied parole by the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP) on Aug. 11, 2020 but was subsequently released Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, two days prior to the murder, under a 2015 law requiring mandatory release of certain convicted felons, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC).
According to Delmer Bailey, a relative of the victim, Stephens was riding in a vehicle on Alabama Highway 157 with Self and three others- who had picked up Stephens upon his release from St. Clair Correctional Facility Thursday, Sept. 10- when the incident occurred. Stephens became agitated and got into a physical altercation with Self. The car stopped near the Alabama Highway 157/U.S. Highway 31 intersection, where the occupants found Self was wounded and unresponsive and attempted first aid. Stephens left the car and fled on foot, while the vehicle went to Cullman Regional where Self was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, according to Cullman County Coroner Jeremy L. Kilpatrick.
If you have any information about the crime or Stephens’ whereabouts, call the Cullman Police Department at 256-734-1434.
Copyright 2020 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
