Sheriff’s officials say three family members were found bound and killed inside a home, while a toddler in the house was not harmed.
WILMER, Ala. — Mobile County investigators are trying to find who killed a mother and her two children inside their Wilmer home after relatives found the victims early Monday in separate rooms, bound and attacked in what the sheriff called a planned crime.
Authorities identified the victims as Lisa Fields, 46; her daughter, Keziah Luker, 17; and her son, Thomas Cordelle Jr., 12. Sheriff Paul Burch said the case stands out for its violence and for signs that the attackers came prepared. Investigators have said there was no clear sign of forced entry, no announced suspect and no public explanation for why the family was targeted. The killings also drew added attention because Luker was pregnant, a fact that could affect any future charges.
Deputies were sent to 7950 Auble Moody Road after a worried family contact went to the house and saw enough of the scene to pull an 18-month-old child to safety and call 911. Burch said the concern began when the father of Luker’s children, who was away for work, noticed activity from her phone through Life360 and could not reach her. By the time deputies arrived, three victims were dead. Investigators said the killings appeared to have happened overnight. The dead were found in different rooms, a detail that quickly shaped the early theory of the case. Burch told reporters the victims’ hands had been tied behind their backs with zip ties or flex cuffs, which he said pointed to planning before the attackers entered the home.
Officials gave different details about the wounds but described a brutal attack. Burch said Fields was stabbed and had her throat cut, Luker was shot, and Thomas also suffered a fatal cut to the throat. He said the way the victims were restrained and separated suggested more than a sudden fight inside the house. “They had a plan when they came in,” Burch said during one briefing. He also said investigators did not believe, at that stage, that the case was a domestic or family-related killing. The sheriff said the house had been left in disarray, as if someone had been searching for something, though investigators had not publicly said what that might have been or whether anything was taken. Those unanswered questions left motive at the center of the case by Tuesday.
The deaths shook relatives and friends who were still trying to make sense of the loss a day later. Luker’s father said the family had “lost half of our family for nothing,” describing the killings as senseless. He said his daughter had recently earned her GED and was trying to build a future for herself and her children. Friends also remembered Fields as upbeat and supportive, someone who tried to lift other people when they were down. One friend, Mandi Evans, said Fields had a way of keeping those around her in good spirits and recalled small everyday moments that now carry extra weight. Evans also said Luker had embraced motherhood and was excited about having another baby girl.
District Attorney Keith Blackwood said prosecutors would weigh several possible capital murder paths once an arrest is made and the facts are more settled. He pointed to the ages of the victims, the possibility that a burglary may have been tied to the crime, and the presence of a young child in the home. Because Luker was pregnant, the unborn child could also become part of the charging analysis depending on what investigators and prosecutors can prove. For now, though, the legal case remains in its earliest stage. No hearing has been set, no arrest has been announced and no timeline has been released for when the sheriff’s office expects to identify a suspect. Investigators have said only that they are following positive leads.
What remains is a quiet stretch of road now tied to one of the area’s most disturbing crimes this year. The known facts are stark: three members of one household were killed, a toddler survived, and investigators believe the attackers entered with a plan. The unknowns are just as important: why the family was targeted, what the intruders may have been looking for, and how many people were involved. Until those answers arrive, the case sits between grief and investigation, with both pressing forward at once.
As of Tuesday, April 21, investigators had not announced arrests and were still asking for information as they worked to explain who carried out the killings and what led to the attack.
Author note: Last updated April 21, 2026.