LEE COUNTY (November 5, 2025) – On November 4, 2025, at approximately 6:57 PM CST, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call in reference to a domestic violence incident where the suspect was attempting to set a vehicle on fire.
Lee County deputies arrived in the 100 block of Lee Rd. 831 in the Salem community of Lee County, AL, approximately ten minutes later and observed the suspect vehicle leaving the scene. Deputies attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle at which time the driver fled in the vehicle. The chase continued on Lee Rd. 241 in Salem until the driver came to a stop at the intersection of Lee Rd. 241 and Lee Rd. 240 where deputies were waiting.
The driver then shot himself while seated in the vehicle. Deputies observed a single gunshot wound to the head from what appeared to be a handgun that was located in the vehicle. Deputies attempted life saving measures without success. The subject was identified as 54-year-old Billy Harold Morris Jr. of Phenix City, AL. The domestic violence incident involved Morris and his wife that began at their residence.
Opelika Police Department was contacted to assist in the investigation. It is standard procedure for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to contact an outside agency to investigate a case whenever a firearm has been discharged in the presence of Lee County Sheriff’s deputies.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 334-749-5651 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).
