Huntsville, AL: Earl Palmer sentenced to 25 years in prison for 2008 murder

Published: Friday, August 06, 2010, 11:56 AM Updated: Friday, August 06, 2010, 12:18 PM
Brian Lawson, The Huntsville Times
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Earl Junior Palmer was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for the 2008 murder of his estranged wife, following what prosecutors said was an extraordinary police investigation.
Palmer, 65, pleaded guilty last month to murdering Callie M. Palmer, 60, outside her work place Custom Chip Connections on Fisher Street on Jan. 7, 2008.
Palmer pleaded guilty on the eve of his murder trial and prosecutors said the police investigation ensured they had a very strong case.
"It was one of the best criminal investigations I've ever seen," Assistant District Attorney Jay Town said, following Friday's sentencing hearing. "If it wasn't, Earl Palmer might still be walking among us."
Prosecutors Town and Tim Gann said Callie Palmer was found shot outside her workplace, but there were no eyewitnesses. Huntsville Police Department Investigator Michael Leftwich checked all the businesses near the crime scene to determine if any had surveillance cameras.
One location had a camera, Gann said, and its footage showed Earl Palmer's car following Callie Palmer shortly before the shooting.
Leftwich also obtained cell phone records which indicated -- based on the cell tower location -- Palmer making a call to his mother, from the scene right after Callie Palmer was killed, Gann said.
Callie Palmer had moved out of her home and obtained a protection order against Earl Palmer. Some six months before she was killed, Palmer crashed his car into hers forcing her car into a building on Governors Drive. He was charged with domestic violence assault and violation of the protection order.
His bond was set at $2,000 according to court records and he was able to pay it and get released.
In a courtroom filled with the victim's family members, Circuit Judge Laura Hamilton gave Palmer a 25-year sentence. Prosecutors had asked that he get a life sentence. Given Palmer's age it may prove to be a life sentence, Town said.
"We're still confident Earl Palmer will never breathe fresh air," Town said.
"And we're glad the family can take some solace in the sentence and try to move on as best they can."