The man who buried the body of a Trussville woman in 2019 made a plea deal and will serve three years behind bars.
Frederick Hampton, 54, of Birmingham, was sentenced to a 20-year split sentence with three years to serve for abuse of a corpse. He will be on probation for five years after his time in prison.
Hampton is accused of burying Paighton Houston after authorities determined she died of an accidental overdose.
Houston’s mother, Charlaine Houston, said while the sentencing may not seem like justice, the fight is not over. She said there is more to this case than what has been released.
“As I gave a victim statement, I held up well and represented Paighton,” Charlaine Houston posted on Facebook. “I was her voice, I will continue to be, just like I promised. God was with us. He will continue to open doors to expose what has been hidden.”
Paighton Houston disappeared after going out with a friend from The Tin Roof on Friday, December 20, 2019.
That Christmas was to be the first she and her siblings would be all together with their parents on the holiday in years. Charlaine Houston told 1819 News that for nearly two weeks, they didn’t know where Paighton was, but she did know in her heart her daughter was gone. It wasn’t until January 3, 2020, that authorities confirmed they recovered Paighton Houston’s remains from a shallow grave behind a home near Hueytown.
The suspect in the case was identified as Frederick Hampton. U.S. Marshals joined the search and captured him in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 29.
The Houston family later learned the Jefferson County Coroner determined Paighton died from an accidental overdose and toxicology just a few weeks later showed she had methamphetamine and morphine in her system.
Hampton, a convicted sex offender, is the only suspect in the case, although investigators said they believe others traveled with Houston from Tin Roof to a home in Brighton where drugs became involved. Investigators believe she died in that home and was later transported before being buried in the yard of the private residence on Chapel Drive near Hueytown.
The Houston family claims in a civil wrongful death lawsuit that Hampton administered the drugs to Houston and that the city of Birmingham failed to ensure Tin Roof complied with the camera ordinance.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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