Bond granted in case of missing woman who was found dead

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A man charged with abusing the corpse of a missing Alabama woman was granted bond Tuesday.

Fredrick Hampton’s bond was set at $15,000 and he must wear an electronic monitor, news outlets reported.

Hampton, 50, was arrested in January at a home in Cleveland, Ohio. He is not charged in Paighton Houston’s death but is charged with abuse of the Trussville woman’s corpse.

Houston, 29, was last seen on Dec. 20, leaving a Birmingham bar with two men. Family members told news outlets that she later sent a text to a friend asking the person to answer if she called because she didn’t know who she was with and feared that she was “in trouble.”

Her body was found on Jan. 3 in a shallow grave behind a home in Hueytown, about 13 miles (21 kilometres) west of Birmingham. The home belongs to relatives of Hampton.

Jefferson County Coroner Bill Yates ruled Houston’s death an accidental overdose. He said she died of morphine and methamphetamine toxicity.

Deputy Chief David Agee said Houston and Hampton were wilfully together the night she disappeared. He said evidence shows after Houston died, Hampton disposed of her body.

Hampton is a convicted sex offender, but his attorney, Emory Anthony, said he is not a flight risk.

“He’s presumed to be not guilty, he’s entered a pleas of not guilty and we’ll see whether the state of Alabama can carry their burden of proof,’’ Anthony said.