Man accused of killing Elmore woman appears in court

Marty Roney
Montgomery Advertiser

WETUMPKA — David Helms, the man facing a murder charge in connection to the death of a woman found stuffed into a well, had his first court appearance Tuesday in Elmore County District Court. 
Judge Glenn Goggans set bonds at $133,000 total; with $100,000 cash bond on the murder charge, $30,000 cash bond on the escape charge and $3,000 bond on the criminal mischief charge. 
Helms, 41, appeared dressed in gray, striped jail garb, restrained in leg irons, handcuffs and belly chains. 
He requested a court appointed attorney. 
The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case in which a woman was likely strangled by a dog chain before her body was dumped in a well.

Helms is accused of strangling Jane Huddleston, 59, of the 7900 block of Highway 14, and then dumped her body in a well on the property, Franklin said.

The nature of the crimes shocked the community.

"I just can't believe something like this could happen, anywhere," said Mandy Simmons, who was having lunch Tuesday with friends at Hog Rock Barbecue. "I mean, how could you hate someone so much to strangle them with a dog chain and then just dump them in a well and then walk off?"

David Helms, 41, is charged with murder.

Franklin said he believes Huddleston was killed late Thursday night or early Friday morning. Her body has been taken to the Alabama Department of Forensics for autopsy.

“Her body showed a distinct ligature around her neck,” the sheriff said. “It was similar to the mark that a dog leash or dog chain, as it were, would have made.”

During the appearance Monday, Helms attempted to explain away his escape charge. He allegedly attempted to escape Monday afternoon from the interview room in the Elmore County Jail.

"I was trying to (siphon) gas when they caught me," he told Goggans. "I had gas fumes in my mouth and wanted to get out so I could get water."

The high cash bonds were handed down due to the "seriousness of the charges," Goggans told Helms.

"And I do believe there is a danger of flight, since you already attempted to escape once," Goggans said,

Helms gave Huddleston's address, in the 7500 block of Alabama Highway 14, as where he would be living if he was able to be released on bond.

The investigation began Monday at 8 a.m. when an inmate in the county jail approached corrections officers about information concerning a homicide. Helms had been arrested for shoplifting Friday night, and spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the county jail on the charge, Franklin said.

he had allegedly shoplifted shampoo and other personal hygiene items from the Wetumpka Wal-Mart, Franklin said.

He called the investigation “confusing” in its start.

“This inmate comes to one of our officers in the jail and says he has information about a lady being killed,” Franklin said. “He had been talking with another inmate in his cell, and this other inmate told him he had killed Jane. That other inmate was none other than David Helms.

“Our officer sent the information to his captain, it went up the chain and that’s how it all got started.”

Franklin graduated from high school with Huddleston. He set about to find her. He contacted her estranged husband, who lives in Union Springs. The couple are separated, he said. Huddleston’s husband said he hadn’t spoken with her in some time. And attempted to contact her at the request of Franklin.

“He called me back about half an hour later and said the texts weren’t going through, and asked if I could go out to the house and do a welfare check,” Franklin said. “At the house I found David Helms walking down the driveway.”

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Helms and Huddleston had been living together in the home, Franklin said. A few minutes later another man walked down the driveway.

“I know this other man from our jail, he’s known to be in the drug trade,” Franklin said. “So I get him off to the side and we have a come to Jesus meeting. He tells me he’s only been there about 45 minutes, but that Helms had told him he had killed Jane and dumped her body in a well.”

That story was eerily similar to what the inmate told the jail officer, Franklin said.

“So here we have two different people, completely unconnected, telling us basically the same story, including the fact that her body is in a well,” Franklin said. “We placed Mr. Helms in one of my investigator’s cars on investigative hold. I knew there was a well on the property, so my investigator and I went to the well.”

The well, a large diameter concrete pipe, had obviously had the top removed recently, Franklin said.

“We looked into the well, and found Jane, face down in the water,” Franklin said. “We started the investigation about 8 in the morning and found her about 10 that morning.”

No motive has been released.

Helms was taken to the jail for interviews. He attempted to escape by breaking out a window in the interview room, which is inside the jail, Franklin said. So, along with the murder charge, he faces charges of escape and criminal mischief for breaking the window.

This is Elmore County’s first homicide for the year, Franklin said.