Burning bodies found at Highlands airport treated as double murder, neighbors say landfill a major problem

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WBRC) – Birmingham police classified the death two people were found inside the burning car on Tuesday morning as a double homicide.

Local residents say the area has been a problem site for illegal dumping for years. WBRC has learned that the land where the bodies were found is owned by the Birmingham Airport Authority, which says it is working with neighbors and has contractors cleaning up the area regularly.

Despite these efforts, neighbors insist that the problem has not been solved.

“I don’t even go down that road anymore because of what I saw. Glass in the middle of the road, trash and all that,” says Clarence Fuller.

Fuller has lived in the Airport Highlands area all his life and says the land near his home has become a dumping ground for trash and, in some cases, corpses.

“About four blocks, then another about two blocks that way, then another block that way,” Fuller adds. “Then I counted one in Zion City that was about eight blocks. So these were the bodies that were thrown away. They weren’t even in the car. They were simply thrown away.”

Both Fuller and Airport Highlands Neighborhood President Chris Evans say the roads where the dumps are taking place should be closed.

“Roads really don’t serve a purpose when you go over a hill; it is not intended for anything else; it’s just wooded areas,” says Evans.

“The airport will not cut down these forests. I still tried to contact them through all those trees. Trees always fall,” says Fuller.

Birmingham Airport Authority issued the following statement:

“There is a problem with the landfill in this area. And we regularly meet with representatives of the district to be aware of their problems. The airport pays a contractor for regular cleaning of discarded garbage on our territory.”

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