Man, 63, discovered murdered on Saturday morning in Birmingham

A 63-year-old man, Roderick Levann Davis, was found dead in Birmingham’s Elyton Village community on Saturday morning, marking the 14th homicide in the city this month. Initially having been called to the scene due to a 911 call about an individual lying down in the 400 block of First Street West, police officers of the North Precinct found him unresponsive with visible facial abrasions, assumedly caused from falling.

The Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced Davis dead at the scene. The death was initially believed to be due to natural causes, but investigations carried out by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office revealed that Davis had been the victim of a physical assault, classifying his death as a homicide. The police have not made any arrests in connection to the case yet.

The number of homicides in Birmingham has been on the rise with seven instances occurring between the 16th and 19th of March and a total of 12 in an 11-day period. In comparison, there were a total of 12 homicides in March of 2023. This recent rash of violence has been a cause of concern with local law enforcement.

Police Chief Scott Thurmond addressed the surge in violent crimes earlier this week, however, details of his comments or proposed actions were not included in the report. The authorities are continuing with their probes into the cases and are hopeful of making breakthroughs soon.

Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, officials are urging anyone with information about the case to contact the homicide investigators at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Any piece of information, regardless of how insignificant it may seem, could be crucial in solving the case. All calls will be handled with discretion and tipsters can ensure their details will be kept confidential.