Man from Chicago pleads guilty to 2020 killing of ASU student

A Chicago native has pleaded guilty to the killing of an Alabama State University (ASU) student in 2020 and now faces a sentence of life in prison, said an announcement from Montgomery County District Attorney Azzie Oliver. 

The announcement cited case evidence saying that Ivry Hall of Chicago left the campus with the victim, Adam Dowdell, in September of 2020. When Dowdell did not return his mother reported him missing, prompting the ASU Department of Public Safety to investigate. 

Sometime afterwards Montgomery Police investigators received a call from the Chicago Police Department saying that a priest had been informed about Dowdell's disappearance. 

Investigators later learned that after the disappearance Hall came back to Chicago and confessed the crime to the priest. 

On Sept. 14 of that year officers from the Montgomery Police Department found Dowdell's body in the area of Hutchison and Ripley streets. An autopsy report found that he had been shot in the back of the head. 

Hall will be sentenced by Judge Brooke Reid on March 9. 

“Today’s guilty plea brings this tragic case to a close," said Oliver. "While no court proceeding can undo the loss of a young life, this outcome ensures that the defendant will be held fully accountable."

"The lives of Adam Dowdell’s family and friends have been forever changed by this senseless act of violence. We also recognize the broader impact this case has had on the Alabama State University campus community. I hope this conclusion provides a measure of justice and allows Mr. Dowdell’s loved ones the space to continue healing.”