Michael Belcher was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the kidnapping and murder of Samantha Payne
According to court documents Michael Belcher and four others, Chylli Bruce, Steven George, Alyssa Watson and Marcus George would kidnap Samantha Payne who would be tied to a tree and murdered
Michael Belcher would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Michael Belcher is incarcerated at Holman Prison
Michael Belcher Case
Wednesday morning, Tuscaloosa County Judge Brad Almond sentenced convicted murderer Michael Belcher to death. Belcher will die by lethal injection for the 2015 murder of 29-year-old Samantha Payne.
Susi Payne and her husband have fought four years to get their daughter justice and they finally got
what they have been waiting for.
“Justice is being served, we can’t change things that have happened but there is some justice in this case,” Payne said. “I am just glad Belcher and all of them are getting punished for the part they played.”
In November 2015 Belcher and four others kidnapped Payne and took her to the Talledega National Forest where they tied the victim to the tree, beat her and then brutally stabbed her in her throat with a knife. District Attorney Hays Webb says this was a terribly brutal crime.
“I hope that this helps them with the healing process, they have some closure now,” Webb said. “But this was a horrible crime, literally the torture she suffered and the kicking and the beating and her nails being torn off and being put in a trunk. And we knew that she knew that they were going to kill her.”
Defendant Chylli Bruce will spend five years in jail and fifteen years probation. Steven George is serving a life sentence, Alyssa Watson and Marcus George are both serving thirty-year sentences.
Susi Payne says Belcher has never shown any remorse. She and her family are now trying to move on and they are keeping good memories of Samantha in their hearts.
“But she was really extra special, she had the best personality and she was always smiling. Always giving people gifts, we loved her and she was a wonderful person,” Susi said.
The Alabama Department of Corrections transported Belcher to a state prison where he will sit on death row until his sentence is carried out.