From The Tribune staff reports
JEFFERSON COUNTY – Frederick Hampton, 53, of Jefferson County, pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Thomas Thrash on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. The plea is in connection to the 2019 disappearance and death of 29-year-old Trussville woman Paighton Houston.
According to Al.com, Hampton’s plea came in the same day his trial was set to begin and, as part of the plea, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with three years to serve followed by five years of probation. Hampton also received credit for time already served, Carol Robinson reported.
Hampton is not charged with Houston’s death, but for illegally burying her body in a shallow grave in Hueytown, where Houston’s remains were discovered on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020, after she had last been seen at Tin Roof in Birmingham on Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, according to police.
Following an autopsy and toxicology report in January 2020, Jefferson County Coroner Bill Yates stated that the cause of death was determined to be Morphine and methamphetamine toxicity and the manner of death was determined to be accidental.
“This represents an overdose and is classified as a drug-opioid death,” Yates said.
A wrongful death law suit filed in 2022 by Attorney Scott Hughes on behalf of Houston’s family stated while both Houston and Hampton were in a “visibly and apparently intoxicated state … Hampton proximately caused the death of Paighton Houston by providing and or/administering a lethal dose of morphine and methamphetamine,’’ to Houston.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, Hampton is listed as NG6, a classification reserved for inmates who pose an extreme escape risk, have a history of violence, or pose a significant threat to the safety and security of staff and other inmates.
Hampton is a convicted sex offender, and he has previous convictions for first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy, among other charges, according to court documents.
Abuse of Corpse (Alabama Code 13A- 11- 13) is a Class C felony, defined as: except as otherwise authorized by law, a person knowingly treats a human corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities. Abuse of a corpse may include knowingly and willfully signing a certificate as having embalmed, cremated, or prepared a human body for disposition when, in fact, the services were not performed as indicated.