A Trigg County man who was the subject of a well-publicized murder case over 20 years ago is once again facing a murder charge in connection with a separate case.
Kentucky State Police said they presented evidence to a Marshall County grand jury on Thursday and obtained a murder indictment against 48-year-old Claude Russell of Cadiz in connection with the death of 49-year-old Lia Thompson of Benton, who was found dead in her home on March 19th.
Police initially stated the murder was a targeted incident and there was no threat to the public. No information on what led to Thompson’s death has been released by state police.
Russell was charged with the 2002 murder of Chantell Humphries in Trigg County. In mid-2003, a Trigg grand jury elected to drop the indictment. In 2011, Russell was indicted again for Humphries’ murder, and he stood trial in 2012, which ended in a hung jury.
In 2019, Judge Woody Woodall dismissed with prejudice the case against Russell, meaning he cannot be tried again on the same charges.
Russell turned himself in at the Trigg County Sheriff’s Office Friday afternoon.
