John Dwight Whited, 53, of Trinity, Alabama, called authorities Wednesday with evidence and information that matched the case, the Decatur Police Department said.
The murder of Alabama’s Christopher Alvin Dailey went unsolved for 25 years, until police said a man called them, confessing to the killing. Shortly after John Dwight Whited called the Decatur Police Department with his confession, he was charged and arrested for murder, authorities said.
Whited, 53, of Trinity is currently being held at the Morgan County Jail, with bail set at $15,000. He does not yet have a court date set.
Authorities said that during the interview, Whited was able to provide details that matched the evidence and information in the case.
Dailey had died of a single gunshot wound, and his death had been determined at the time to be a homicide, WZDX reported. His car was found partially submerged in the Tennessee River, according to CBS News.
While authorities pursued different leads, they never had a suspect in the case, until Whited made his call to authorities on Wednesday. They said it wasn’t clear what prompted him to confess.
Whited is also awaiting trial on a methamphetamine charge, and his arrest history includes several for traffic and drug offense, according to police.
His lawyer in the latest drug case, Griff Belser, was unable to comment on the murder charge. “He has not mentioned anything about this other matter to me,” Belser told CBS News.
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