Father testifies on watching son be shot, thrown in grave

<p>The testimony of a man who was buried alive in a shallow grave with his fatally shot son drove some jurors to tears Friday and kept one juror from returning to the courtroom.</p><p>You couldnt be human if that didnt bring tears to your eyes, said one veteran Talladega County law enforcement officer, who listened to the testimony Friday of Forest Butch Bowyer of Phenix City.</p><p>Ive heard enough, said another Talladega County man, who would not go back into the courtroom after Russell County Circuit Court Judge Albert Johnson ordered a 10-minute pause in Bowyers gruesome story.</p><p>Bowyer testified for more than an hour in the capital murder trial for Jimmy Lee Brooks. He described how two men forced him and his son to an isolated area near Seale, where the men cut his throat, shot his son and left the two for dead, buried in a makeshift grave.</p><p>Brooks, 25, of Lee County, is accused of shooting 12-year-old Brett Bowyer of Phenix City three times in back of the head.</p><p>Bowyer said he witness his sons execution. He said Brooks had a gun pointed at his sons head at the foot of the grave.</p><p>He pulled the trigger, Bowyer said. He shot Brett. The boy fell into the grave.</p><p>Bowyer said his nightmare started shortly after 10 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 17, 2002. His son, a sixth grade student, was getting ready to take a shower before going to bed. Bowyer was at his kitchen table doing title work related to his used car business.</p><p>Bowyer testified that a men dressed as narcotics officer said he had a warrant for the fathers arrest, and forced him and Brett into the back seat of a Crown Victoria, where another man was waiting. I told (Brett) it was just a mistake, Bowyer said.</p><p>The man who initially went up to Bowyers door was later identified as Michael David Carruth, 45, of LaGrange, Ga., who was convicted in October by a Russell County jury and sentenced to death in the case.</p><p>Bowyer said he recognized Brooks from doing repossession for his car business, though he wouldnt let on.</p><p>Bowyer said the men took him and his son back to the house to retrieve $20,000, and got upset when they found more money in a lock box.</p><p>(Carruth) led me to believe he was going to let us go, Bowyer testified. The father and son were taken back to the isolated area, where Carruth slit his throat, he said.</p><p>He kept telling me, Just go to sleep, Bowyer testified. Dont give me any trouble.</p><p>Bowyer testified they brought his son out next to him, and his son pleaded with the men, Please dont hurt my daddy.</p><p>He said Brooks took the knife and slit his throat again. Bowyer testified that he knew he was going to die, and saw the two men digging a grave that would later hold him and his son.</p><p>Bowyer said he could hear the two man talking and laughing after he was thrown in, and he waited until they left, giving them enough time to get to their car.</p><p>I kept kicking and kicking and kicking until I could pry myself out of the grave, he said.</p><p>Bowyer said he found the leg of his son and pulled him out.</p><p>I saw he was gone, Bowyer said, who walked to U.S. 431 and flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911.</p><p>When he was asked if he could identify in court the man who shot his son, Bowyer extended his right arm straight out and pointed to Brooks. Right there, Bowyer said.</p><p>Testimony resumes Monday morning.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/2/177170