By Marla Jones, Managing Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

DeKALB COUNTY, Ala. — On Monday, Christopher Madison, 33, appeared in DeKalb County District Court after being charged with capital murder in the death of 11-year-old Amberly Barnett.

Madison was arrested and charged with capital murder earlier this month and is being held without bond.

The strangled body of Amberly Barnett was found 200 yards behind the defendant’s home. Court testimony revealed by Chief Investigator David Davis of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office that Madison had pretended to search for Barnett’s body after she was reported missing.

On March 1, Barnett stayed home alone while her aunt and aunt’s boyfriend went to Walmart in Centre. The couple was back within an hour and a half, but Barnett was missing from the home.

Madison, who lived on the adjoining property, told the family that he saw a Dodge Durango in the home’s driveway, but no neighbors were able to corroborate his story. He went on to say that he had checked in the woods behind the home, but found nothing.

According to testimony by Davis, search and rescue dogs picked up Barnett’s scent at the back door of Madison’s home. The body of Amberly Barnett was found with a rope, the same type of rope found at Madison’s home, tied around her neck.

After a search warrant was obtained, investigators found items pertaining to Madison’s interest in bondage in his home. Inside the home, blood was found on the bedroom walls, mattress, bed frame, bathroom sink and a sheet of paper. Also found was a bloody pair of Madison’s jeans in the clothes dryer.

DeKalb County District Judge Steve Whitmire ruled in the preliminary hearing that there was probable cause for the capital murder charge against Madison.

If convicted, Madison will face the death penalty or life in prison.