An unsolved murder that occurred in Trigg County in 2002 was featured on the Kentucky Cold Cases Facebook page Sunday.
The body of 33-year old Chantell Humphries was found on a cattle farm off of Barefield Road in Trigg County on June 25, 2002. At the time of her death, it was reportedly the first homicide in Trigg County in almost twenty years, according to Kentucky Cold Cases.
Claude Russell was first arrested and charged in connection to Humphries murder in November 2002, but in mid-2003 the grand jury elected to drop his indictment. In 2011, Russell was indicted again for Humphries murder and he stood trial in 2012, which ended in a hung jury.
According to a Kentucky State Police investigation, Humphries had been seen the evening before with Russell, her footprints had been found in the backseat of his vehicle, and a gun belonging to Russell was found to be a match to the one used in her murder. Russell has always maintained his innocence and denied he had anything to do with Humphries murder and instead said a Trigg County drug dealer who sold her drugs murdered her. During Russell’s trial, he even said Humphries had asked to borrow his gun to scare the dealer because she owed the dealer money.
In 2019, Judge C.A. “Woody” Woodall dismissed with prejudice the case against Russell, meaning he cannot be tried again on the same charges.
If you know anything about the murder of Chantell Humphries, please contact Kentucky State Police at (270) 856-3721.
