Two Hartselle brothers used a knife and hedge shears to kill Charles Cameron Hill in 2021, according to a prosecutor’s opening statement Tuesday in their murder trial.

Billy Joe Lindley, 52, was arrested and charged with murder Nov. 17, 2021, the day of Hill’s death, after he gave a knife to investigators and said he had used it to stab Hill, according to an investigator’s affidavit.

After further investigation, Billy Lindley’s brother — Rathel Amos Lindley, 45 — was also charged with murder in Hill’s death in February 2023, according to Hartselle police. Both have remained in Morgan County Jail since their arrests awaiting trial.

Witness testimony on Tuesday painted a scene of Hill’s death. Two fathers were watching their daughters practice softball pitching inside Hartselle Gymnastics on the evening of Nov. 17, 2021. At the other end of the building, 20 or so children were receiving gymnastics lessons. The Lindleys resided about a hundred yards away and across the street at 401 Woodall St., according to police.

“I started hearing hollering,” said John Foote. “It got louder and louder and came right by the door.” Foote said the door had been propped open with a cement block because it was a warm day.

“There was a man laying on the ground and a man on top. Looked like he was punching or hitting or stabbing him.”

Foote said the man on top noticed him when he went to close the door.

“He stood up and pointed at the guy on the ground and said, ‘Die m***********’”

Then, the man walked away casually like he was “strolling through Walmart,” according to Foote. He said a bloodied Hill got up and tried to enter the gym.

“I was thinking about the kids’ safety at that point,” Foote said. He didn’t let Hill inside.

Another father in the gym came to see what was happening. Herbert Knott said after someone inside called 911, he saw Hill being denied entry to the building.

“He was trying to walk away and that’s when he fell into the concrete,” Knott said.

Billy Lindley was represented by attorney Tom DiGiulian, while Rathel Lindley was represented by attorney Phoenix Iverson. The brothers sat near each other in civilian clothes in a courtroom presided over by Morgan County Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell. Assistant District Attorney Joe Lewis is prosecuting the case.

Howell began the morning by giving instructions to the jury.

“I’m judging the law and you guys are judging the facts,” she said. “I’m asking you to isolate yourselves from any circumstances that might influence your verdict in this case.”

Howell then dismissed the jury to address last-minute pretrial moves by the defense.

At issue was whether the states of mind of the Lindley brothers, at the time of the alleged crime, had been influenced by Hill’s previous behavior and, if so, whether the previous behavior would be admissible into evidence.

DiGiulian claimed that Hill had a “propensity for violence” and had showed up uninvited to the Lindley residence and threatened them “continuously” prior to his murder.

“This is a backdoor method to dirty-up the victim,” Lewis countered.

“Without these specific acts, the full picture is not there,” Iverson said. “I think it should be admitted.”

Howell ruled that facts showing an ongoing difficulty between the parties were admissible but specific details were not.

After the jury was escorted back into the courtroom, Lewis began his opening argument. He said the defendants were at their home on Woodall Street on Nov. 17, 2021: Rathel Lindley was outside the house in his workshop, while Billy Lindley was inside.

“The victim in this case came over to the Lindleys’ property,” he said. “Cameron Hill was loaded. He was drunk. He had methamphetamine in his system. He was holding beer bottles.

“He came on the property very belligerent and challenged Rathel to a fight. They got into an argument. Meanwhile, Billy becomes aware of the argument. He gets his knife and goes outside and, in his words, ‘sticks him with a knife.’”

Lewis said Hill then ran across the street, behind the gymnastics building, with Billy in pursuit. Rathel armed himself with hedge shears and joined in the pursuit, according to Lewis. The brothers allegedly cornered Hill in the parking lot of Hartselle Gymnastics before Rathel struck Hill with the shears.

“Billy, having stuck him once, proceeded then to, sure enough, stab him three times,” Lewis said. According to Lewis, a witness heard one of the defendants tell Hill, “You can lay there and die.”

Lewis asked the jury to find the defendants guilty.

DiGiulian stood for his turn to address the jurors. He said Lewis’ version of events was just one side of the story and asked the jury to keep an open mind until deliberation.

“Now, this was not a one-off situation,” he said. “Hill had been over to the Lindleys’ home on numerous occasions and none of them were pleasant.”

On the day of Hill’s death, DiGiulian claimed Hill showed up at the Lindley property, uninvited, and threatened them.

While Rathel Lindley was outside allegedly arguing with Hill, Billy Lindley told his mother inside the house that he “had enough of this s***,” according to DiGiulian.

“Billy jumps in to defend his brother,” he said. “They didn’t run after him to kill him; they ran after him to make sure he wasn’t coming back that night.

“Can you not sit in your home safely without worrying about someone showing up to kill you?”

Iverson also made an opening argument and asked the jury to keep an open mind.

“This case is about a long history of violence and threats,” he said. “It’s about safety in your own home. You all are the deciders.”

Before Hill’s death, Hartselle police had responded to the Lindley residence in August 2020 to investigate a shooting. According to investigators at the time, Hill went to the home and threatened Rathel Lindley with a handgun. In response, Rathel Lindley retrieved a shotgun from a bedroom, and the men then exchanged gunfire outside, police said. Hill was struck once in the upper leg and transported to Huntsville Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The jury on Tuesday, comprised of mostly white women, sat attentively as the prosecution began introducing witnesses one by one. Some of them took notes on yellow legal pads. Howell said she expects the trial will take several days.

— [email protected] or 256-340-2438. @DD_DavidGambino

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