Elmore County teen indicted for father's murder, mother's count no-billed

ELMORE COUNTY, AL (WSFA) - Michael and April Holton were shot in the head at Michael Holton's home on Sept. 11, 2016. Their son Jesse "Madison" Holton was charged with two counts of murder and held on a $1 million dollar bond.

Following a year of unrest surrounding the evidence in the case, District Judge Glenn Goggans lowered Holton's bond to $300,000.

Roughly one year later, an Elmore County grand jury indicted Holton for the death of his father and no-billed the charge for his mother. Senior Assistant District Attorney Mandy Johnson could not discuss the details of the grand jury proceeding.

"We can make no assumption about what the grand jury was thinking," Johnson stated, "but they clearly found probable cause to believe that Jesse Holton murdered his father."

Holton's defense attorney, Tom Azar, maintains his client's innocence and believes the indictment speaks to the lack of evidence in the case.

"The state will have great difficulty proving their case," Azar said of the inconsistent grand jury decisions. "My client is as much of a victim as his parents in this case."

Holton, 18, has been in the Elmore County Detention Facility since his arrest in Sept. 2016.

Authorities served Holton with the indictment Wednesday, his new bond was set at $150,000.

The investigation into April Holton's death is ongoing.