By By Adam Prestridge
The man believed to have pulled the trigger in a double homicide last Thursday at an Atmore apartment complex turned a 9mm on himself early Monday morning, according to Atmore Public Safety Director Glenn Carlee.
Carlee said 44-year-old Ferrell “Bishop” Ferna Perdue was in Bay Minette Monday morning with family members, who were speaking with authorities trying to convince Perdue to turn himself in, when he committed suicide inside a vehicle in the Pine Grove Trailer Park around 9 a.m.
Witnesses said Perdue used a small bicycle to bust the window of a first-floor apartment in the “C” building at McRae Apartments, entered armed with a long-barrel shotgun and began shooting at will just after 10 p.m. last Thursday.
Marquetta Washington, 19, was declared dead at the scene. She was found in her bedroom with multiple gunshot wounds at close range. An autopsy performed Friday revealed that she was pregnant, and investigators upped the crime to a double homicide.
Carlee said he is confident Perdue was the shooter in the murder, but said the proper procedures will still be taken to close the case.
Carlee said the victim’s mother, Alice Evans, who rented the apartment located at 607 McRae St., Apt. C-2, had been in a relationship with the shooter and added that it appeared the shooting was part of an ongoing domestic dispute. Evans was in the apartment at the time of the shooting, but was able to escape through the same window Perdue had broken.
Investigators with the Atmore Police Department traveled to Bay Minette Monday to complete their investigation and discovered letters Perdue had written to family members admitting his guilt and apologizing to his family, but showing no remorse for the murders.
Carlee added that in the letters Perdue blamed “financial circumstances” for his actions.
Perdue’s suicide marked the end of a four-day manhunt involving agencies across South Alabama and the U.S. Marshal’s office.
Tony Hudson, 26, suffered numerous gunshot wounds including a severe injury to one of his arms during the shooting. Hudson, who was found in the living/dining room area, was listed in critical condition at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile Tuesday evening, according to hospital officials.