Double murder suspect charged again after witnesses lead investigators to hidden remains

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - A suspect in a July double murder in Brookwood, Alabama, has been charged with another murder after skeletal remains were found Tuesday behind a Tuscaloosa apartment complex, the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit said.

On July 6, Brookwood Police were called to do a welfare check around 1 p.m. The woman who rented the home was out of the country and had a co-worker, 31-year-old Jose Felix Alvarez-Duenas, house and dog sitting.

The woman was unable to reach Alvarez-Duenas for some time between July 5 and 6. She accessed several doorbell cameras and saw a suspect, later identified as 24-year-old De’Kendrick Crawford, acting suspiciously.

When Brookwood Police got to the house, they found Alvarez-Duenas inside the entryway. They also found 22-year-old Jazmine Alexis Bates, a University of Alabama student from Chicago, and a dog, dead inside a closet. All had gunshot wounds.

The VCU took over the investigation. Crawford, the renter of the home, Alvarez-Duenas, and Bates reportedly worked together at Buffalo Phil’s in Tuscaloosa.

Crawford had an outstanding felony warrant for shooting into an occupied building in May 2026. In that incident, Crawford was terminated from a contractor job on campus of the University of Alabama, and as he drove away, fired several shots that hit an occupied office building near Coleman Coliseum, authorities said. Warrants were obtained in that case, and Crawford was said to be actively eluding law enforcement.

Based on the video and other physical evidence found on scene, a warrant for capital murder was obtained, and the US Marshals Task Force was contacted to assist.

Within hours, Crawford was found at a relative’s apartment in Northport. Crawford refused to exit, police said, and the apartment building was secured. After a tactical breach and search of the building, Crawford was found hiding in an attic crawlspace and was taken into custody approximately 10 hours after the victims were discovered.

A judge bound the case against Crawford over to a grand jury in late July.

In early November, the VCU said a witness came to authorities claiming Crawford told them that before he allegedly killed Alvarez-Duenas and Bates, he had also killed an unknown man at a different place in Tuscaloosa.

Investigators were able to find other witnesses who also said Crawford had told them differing accounts of this murder. From there, the VCU said investigators pieced together different details from witnesses, compared them to digital evidence, and corroborated some of the places and events Crawford said to witnesses.

On Tuesday, authorities found skeletal remains partially buried in a wooded area behind River Road Apartments.

“The remains were purposely hidden and were only found by the corroborated details Crawford provided to witnesses,” the VCU said.

Crawford was reportedly interviewed before he allegedly denied involvement again. He was charged with murder in the new case.

The VCU said they have not yet identified the remains of the alleged victim. They believe he is a Black man between 40 and 70 years old, and that he may have a Chevy Cruze that was often seen at 10th Avenue Apartments, but authorities do not know if he was a resident at that complex or not.

The remains are being tested by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in hopes of identifying the victim.

Anyone who knows of anyone who fits this description to be missing or believes they have any information is asked to contact the VCU at 205-464-8692.