Brother of a Lexington murder victim says suspect has been ‘falsely accused.’

The brother of a murder victim whose body was found in the trunk of a burning car took the stand Wednesday to say the man on trial wasn’t the one who shot his sibling.

Cecil Thomas Russell, 39, stands trial this week on charges of murder, complicity to abuse a corpse, complicity to commit arson, evidence tampering and criminal mischief after the body of Lazarus Parker was found by firefighters in the trunk of a burning car inside a barn in Bourbon County more than two years ago, according to Kentucky State Police.

Investigation revealed that before his body was found, Parker had been shot in a Lexington residence on Dakota Street. An autopsy revealed he had a purple bullet lodged in him.

It was during opening statements that Yuchi El, Parker’s brother, saw the bullets and knew “something wasn’t right.”

In addition to Yuchi El, two other key people testified: a man and woman who were also accused of being involved in Parker’s death. Martae Shanks, 36, and 30-year-old Autumn Owens, were called to the witness stand to testify against Russell as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. Russell said it was Shanks who shot Parker.

The victim’s brother agreed. He testified for the defense and said he knew he’d seen Martae Shanks with purple bullets on three separate occasions. El said he would testify for the defense because he and his family had contacted prosecutors to tell them about the information — to no avail.

He said his family acknowledged that Russell was involved, but felt all three suspects should have been charged with the same crimes.

“I knew it wasn’t right,” he said after he saw the opening statements which showed the purple bullet. “I contacted (the defense) to let them know (Russell) is being falsely accused. He has parts to do with it but he didn’t do the murder.”

Shanks and Owens are now married, and are charged in connection to the murder with multiple counts of drug trafficking, drug possession, criminal mischief, complicity to abuse a corpse, and complicity to arson. At least four of Martae Shanks’ nine felony charges were amended to misdemeanors as part of his plea deal, according to court documents. He originally faced 70 years in prison, and now faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, according to court testimony. The minimum he faces is eight years.

Owens, whose last name is now Shanks, faces six years in prison, according to her plea deal.

El said he believed “Martae did it, and (Russell) helped clean up.” He said prosecutors didn’t listen to the family. He said they offered the prosecution and police all the information they had, including their knowledge about the bullets, but their concerns went unheard.

Shanks: Wanted family to have answers

Martae Shanks told the jury it was Parker and Russell who initially began fighting earlier that night. That fight continued to escalate when Martae Shanks said he heard Parker fire two shots when the gun jammed.

During the altercation, Autumn Shanks said she heard the bathroom door slam and kept hearing Russell ask for a towel, thinking he was shot. She said she heard Parker kicking on the bathroom door and yelling, “let me just shoot you in the foot and it be done with!”

Autumn Shanks said her husband was trying to break up the fight before they went to their bedroom.

Martae Shanks testified he heard Parker say, “no, I was just playing. Please.” That’s when he said Russell fired the shots and the couple testified hearing multiple rounds go off. Autumn Shanks said she knew Russell had a gun because it was an “unspoken rule” that everyone have a firearm on them at all times.

She admitted she couldn’t definitively say whether Russell or Martae Shanks fired or truly had a weapon because she was in her bedroom. She said Russell was in the bathroom begging for someone to call the police.

Both Autumn and Martae Shanks said after Parker was dead, Russell wrapped Parker’s body in his bedding. Autumn Shanks said she never saw the body in the trunk of the car, but went to get gasoline. When she returned, she said Parker’s body was gone. Martae Shanks said Russell drove Parker’s white rental car with Parker’s body while he and his wife followed behind in a green car. Autumn Shanks said she told Martae Shanks to pull off the road and just drive away, but he didn’t respond.

The couple alleged Russell was the one who found the barn and lit the vehicle on fire.

All three cleaned up the home after the body was gone, according to Martae Shanks. They both testified Russell went to Walmart and returned with a new comforter, cleaning supplies and other materials. The three continued to live in the Dakota Street home and Autumn and Martae married a few months after the murder on May 26, 2021.

Martae and Autumn Shanks originally told investigators Parker left the home and they never heard from him again. Martae Shanks later refused to speak with police. He asked for an attorney and never gave officers a full statement.

On Tuesday, he said he decided to confess four days before the trial when talking to prosecutors because he “struggled” with the event, and the Parker family “deserves to know what happened.”

But Daniel Whitley, Russell’s attorney, focused on Martae Shanks’ refusal to talk to police and prosecutors until four days before the trial when he was offered the plea deal that reduced his sentence significantly.

“You’ve been in court almost two years and the same people that were saying you are a criminal, on November 30 they decided to give you a plea deal — they decided to give you a deal with your attorney there — and then you decided you want to tell the truth,” Whitley said.

Whitley added, “you’re facing many years in prison for selling poison in our community and you get this amazing deal and you decide to say that Cecil Russell is a killer.”

Closing statements are expected to begin on Thursday morning, followed by jury deliberations to determine if Russell is guilty.