Laurel Pruett's Path to Murder/The Envy Band

The following is an update on Laurel Pruett, accused accomplice in the murder of Amanda Taylor:

It's not surprising that Laurel Ann Stocker didn't have an easy childhood. Her father left the family when she was 18 months old. After announcing he was gay, Stocker never saw Laurel or her younger sister again. Her mother Barbara, bi-polar and left alone with two young daughters, worked as a nurse at the Limestone Correctional Facility until she became disabled. She died three years ago.

At 15, Laurel became pregnant with her first child. Her boyfriend was several years older and heavily into drugs. He disappeared before his son was born, a son that has Asperger's Syndrome and now lives in a foster home in Decatur. Laurel then married Ross Pruett and became a mother again, this time giving birth to a daughter. After the divorce, her mentally challenged daughter went to live with Laurel's ex-father-in-law. Once again Laurel Ann Stocker Pruett was alone.

Laurel's online profiles state that she has some college credit, but don't specify a school. After moving to the Shoals, she worked at a Chevron in Muscle Shoals. She also met Ronald Weems, whom she thought was "Preppy." A week after they met, he surprised her by dying his hair blue. Apparently this didn't bother Laurel who went on to live with Ron and have his daughter. She considered them married, but Ron demanded the relationship be open...at least as far as other women were concerned.

Ron, who had no steady employment, lived with his mother. Friends say he loved his children from his marriage to Brandy Leeth and was eager to have custody of the two when his ex-wife was no longer able to care for them properly. Therein lay a problem for Laurel; DHR refused to grant Ron custody as long as she lived with him.

Laurel, who was heterosexual, devised a plan to announce her "marriage" to a female friend in Sheffield. Now she lived sporadically with Ron, but also with her faux wife and her two children. We can assume it hurt Laurel to see Ron with his girlfriend du jour, especially someone like Ashley Greenhill who had lived even a more troubled life than Laurel.

Now Laurel claims she was not at Ron's house in Muscle Shoals when he murdered Brandy's sister Amanda Taylor. She has confessed to helping Ron cover his tracks in the crime, something a woman with Laurel's mindset wouldn't hesitate to do. We doubt she will be indicted for murder, but she still has several crimes to answer for. She won't have to worry about their young daughter--she's already in foster care.

We don't imagine that's how Laurel saw her future when she first met Ron. Apparently among Laurel's shortcomings in life was the ability to judge character. Now it has cost her everything.

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The Envy Band

Looking for a band for all your holiday parties? Look no farther. The Envy Band is composed of:

Mark Anthony Terry - Front Man/Guitar
Jeremy Sparks - Bass
Jeremy Young - Drums
Lee Gilstrap - Piano

Give them a call at 205-412-5814 Cell/253-383-4896 Home

Envy Band Page

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