A man who tortured and murdered a woman at a Huntsville motel in 1983 is again eligible for release from prison.
Born in 1953, Phillip Musgrove first received a death sentence for the murder of Deborah Lynn Burks, the woman he had dated for several months.
Musgrove drove Burks to the Frank Ann Motel, where he had reserved a room, after repeatedly asking her to come on her own.
The motel discovered Burks naked, chained, and gagged in a shower stall. Her body had slashes, stab wounds, and other symptoms of torture.
The incident led to Musgrove’s arrest in Montgomery. In court, prosecutors described a “series of grisly acts” that preceded the murder.
During the sentence, they requested the death penalty.
However, following multiple appeals, the court reduced Musgrove’s sentence, resulting in his imprisonment in Alabama for over 40 years. Records show that the board denied him parole during his last hearing in 2022.
Musgrove is currently at the Hamilton Community Work Center, where he is able to work remotely.
His appearance is one of the 68 parole and 31 pardon hearings scheduled for next week.
