Owens Cross Roads, AL: Ex-husband of fired Hampton Cove principal Fillis McGhee shot to death in Owens Cross Roads

A man found lying dead in the street of a quiet middle-class neighborhood was shot multiple times through the back windshield of his car as he drove away from his home, neighbors said.

Alonzo Bernard McGhee, 44, of 7098 Pale Dawn Place in Hidden Cove subdivision, was able to leave the car but died lying face down in the street, neighbors said. Police spokesman Harry Hobbs said thevictim died in front of his home at about 10:30 p.m.  Police markings at the scene show where the car left the road and came to a stop and where the body was found.

McGhee and his ex-wife, Fillis, who was recently fired as principal of Hampton Cove Elementary School, were divorced Dec. 28 and he retained the home and "sole physical custody" of the couple's three children, ages 9, 11 and 12, according to the divorce decree. A judge ordered Fillis McGhee to be out of the home by Feb. 1 but it is unclear whether she still lived at the residence. The divorce decree stipulated that Alonzo McGhee would refinance the home into his own name immediately.
Police markings at the scene show the car driven by Alonzo McGhee left the road and came to a stop in the front yard of his next-door neighbor. The back windshield had been shot out, neighbors said.
Four neighbors said they heard noises at the time of the shooting they described as bangs or pops but didn't realize they were gunshots until police arrived on the scene and neighbors gathered in the street.
"It's a quiet neighborhood," one neighbor said. "We were very shocked."
Hobbs said the victim was dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. Police have no suspects in the case and the investigation is ongoing, he said.
Alonzo McGhee was a lieutenant colonel in the Army. Fillis McGhee, formerly principal of Hampton Cove Elementary School, was fired from her job in October 2011 after being accused of nepotism and fraud.

View full sizeFillis McGhee gets a hug from a supporter after being fired by the Huntsville school board at a meeting Aug. 18, 2011. (Huntsville Times file photo) 

She was placed on administrative leave in August 2011 when Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardynski accused her of submitting fraudulent teacher evaluations, using her position to secure a job for her sister and lying about her 2-year-old niece's age to be able to enroll her in a prekindergarten program. Fillis McGhee appealed to Madison County Circuit Court, but after two days of testimony a judge found the charges had merit and she was fired.
Madison County jail records show Alonzo McGhee was arrested Sept. 28, 2011, just weeks after he filed for divorce from his wife, and was charged with third-degree domestic violence but The Times could find no record of that charge in state court records.