Appellate court upholds capital murder conviction in murder-for-hire plot
MADISON – The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals last week upheld the capital murder convictions of the gunman in a 2020 Hartselle murderfor- hire plot, rejecting his argument that jurors should have been instructed on a defense- of-others theory.
Logan McKinley Delp, 42, of Madison, was convicted by a Morgan County jury in October 2025 of two counts of capital murder in the killing of Anthony Larry Sheppard, 41, of Hartselle. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The two convictions were based on separate provisions of Alabama’s capital murder law: murder committed for payment or other valuable consideration and murder committed by shooting into an occupied dwelling.
Delp’s sole argument on appeal was that Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell erred by refusing to instruct jurors that they could acquit him if they found he acted in defense of another person, according to a memorandum filed Sept. 18 by the appellate court.
Delp contended that trial evidence showed he believed the 5-year-old daughter shared by Sheppard and Jaclyn Elaine Skuce was in imminent danger of serious physical harm or death from Sheppard.
In a recorded police interview, Delp said Skuce offered him money to kill Sheppard because of the danger Sheppard allegedly posed to the child, the appellate memorandum states. Delp also cited an exchange of the child between Skuce and Sheppard that he witnessed, during which he said the child cried.
Sheppard was scheduled to appear in Limestone County District Court the morning of his death for a custody and visitation hearing involving the child. Sheppard’s attorney testified at Delp’s trial that Sheppard had been making progress toward gaining full custody.
The Court of Criminal Appeals found that evidence insufficient to support a defense-of-others instruction because the alleged danger was not imminent when Delp shot Sheppard. Instead, the court said, Delp feared the child could be harmed in the future if Sheppard gained custody.
Citing Raines v. State, the court said fear of possible future harm does not justify deadly force when the danger is not imminent.
“Because the danger to the child was not imminent, Delp’s shooting of Sheppard was not justified under the theory of defense of others and the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying Delp’s request for a jury instruction on defense of others,” the memorandum said.
Trial evidence showed Delp traveled from Huntsville to Sheppard’s Dawson Street home July 24, 2020, and shot him through the storm door shortly after 7:30 a.m. Surveillance video from inside the house showed Sheppard being shot multiple times as he tried to crawl away. An autopsy found he had been shot five times.
Investigators testified that Skuce paid Delp $30,000 to kill Sheppard.
A Morgan County jury convicted Skuce in May 2026 of three counts of capital murder, and she was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Alabama Department of Corrections records show Delp is incarcerated at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County and Skuce at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka.
The three other co-defendants pleaded guilty. Lajuhn Keith Smart Jr., 30, pleaded guilty to felony murder. Aaron Carter Howard, 45, and Angela Marie Stolz, 39, pleaded guilty to murder as a lesser-included offense. All three were sentenced to 20 years in prison, court records show.
Prosecutors said Smart drove the getaway vehicle, Howard helped scout Sheppard’s home and served as a lookout, and Stolz traveled with the group and encouraged Delp to carry out the killing.
