An Opelika widow is speaking out a day after a man is charged with murdering her husband.

Twenty-two year-old Malcum Lee Allen is accused of shooting 48 year-old Walter Cade Spratlin Jr. to death at his business, Cade's Custom Exhaust and Muffle April 11th.

Debra Spratlin said no relief came from the arrest, but she never lost hope and is glad one has been made. She described her first reaction upon hearing the news.

"I said alright and I smiled. I was like, yeah...and i hate to be that happy about it, but I'm sorry, he shouldn't of done it."

While the ashes have been spread, Spratlin said everyday is still a struggle and she is constantly missing the man she loved for two decades. "I just knew he was coming home, he was going to be walking through that door, but he didn't."

Now the alleged murderer sits behind bars at the Lee County jail, where's he's been for the past month on unrelated charges, including property theft and giving police false information.

"He had his whole life ahead of him. now he doesn't,” Spratlin said of Allen. "I feel sorry for his mother, she's lost her son and I lost my husband and it's a tragedy on both ends."

Authorities have not released a motive for the shooting, but said several leads helped make the arrest. They will not say if robbery played a part in the shooting or if Allen acted alone.

Late Friday, Allen made his first court appearance on the murder charge. His bond is set at $100,000. Bond for theft of property in the first degree is $5,000 and $500 for giving false information to police.


http://www2.wrbl.com/news/2012/jun/15/opelika-widow-speaks-arrest-husbands-murder-ar-3981048/