Motive For Alleged Murder Of Woman Was 'She Wouldn't Talk To Him;' Bama Coach Calls It 'Senseless'

The mother of the woman shot and killed early Sunday morning near the Alabama campus said her daughter died because she would not speak to Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and his friend Michael Lynn Davis.

"Took my baby's life because she wouldn't talk to him," DeCarla Cotton said on Facebook Monday.

Cotton's daughter is Jamea Jonae Harris, 23, of Birmingham.

Miles, a junior forward on the Crimson Tide basketball team, and Davis were both arrested on capital murder charges by Tuscaloosa Police Sunday. Both are being held in the Tuscaloosa County jail without bond. Police believe Davis was the shooter, but he used Miles' gun.

Jamea Jonae Harris Of Birmingham Was Shot Dead

Both Miles, 21, and Davis, 20, are from the Washington D.C. area.

Harris was shot while in a vehicle at about 1:45 a.m. central time Sunday just off University Boulevard. She died in the vehicle, Tuscaloosa Police said.

Miles was immediately kicked off the basketball team.

Nate Oats: 'An Incredibly Sad Situation'

"I just want to start today by offering our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jamea Jonae Harris," Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats said at his weekly news conference on Monday afternoon. "She was a young woman, daughter, and mother, who was taken away too soon from a senseless act. This is an incredibly sad situation, and our hearts go out to her loved ones. We're keeping them in our thoughts and prayers as they continue to grieve."

ALABAMA PLAYER DARIUS MILES CHARGED WITH CAPITAL MURDER

No. 4 Alabama defeated LSU, 106-66, Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa with Miles on the bench with an ankle injury. Alabama had announced before the game that he would be out for the season with the injury. He had played in six games.

Alabama Basketball Coach Nate Oats: 'Unimaginable Loss'

"With this being a pending investigation, there's nothing that I can add that hasn't already been shared," Oats said. "Again, our sympathies to Jamea's family following this unimaginable loss. This is a really difficult situation. We're continuing to support each other as we process this and balance school and basketball."

The Tide (15-2, 5-0 SEC) remained No. 4 in the Associated Press poll released Monday. Alabama plays at Vanderbilt (9-8, 2-2 SEC) on Tuesday (8:30 p.m., SEC Network).

"It's really a tragedy all around," Oats said.

Written by
Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.