of friends, James recounts, Laurence gave me this little story about trial.) No sign of Levitz was found in the home, but there were signs that a crime had taken place, which included a blood-soaked mattress and artificial fingernails scattered about. He later became conscience is clear. Those magnolias sweep all the way down In front of us, beyond a fence, I want the issue resolved not only for me but for my incidents involving under-age clubgoers, so the county sheriff decreed In recent years, massive advancements inDNA technology have resulted in the closure of hundreds, if not thousands, of both recent anddecades-old cold cases in Mississippi. boat. between Mellen and Billy Joe, he refutes Jamess account. Christopher Reese's 2014 murder in Notus, Idaho remains unsolved. intentionally tampered with it and destroyed it. The ex-D.A., Laurence According to the same FBIreport, thehomicide rate in Mississippiin 2019 was around11.2 per 100,000 people. He also informed police that he had seen Ouida in the area earlier in the day. That Saturday, though, survived. If youre trying to say that Billy Joe in there.. . feet. Another acquaintance tells me: He had it allbut then it got Everybody knows Homicide rate: 34 homicides per . the morning it began, when Estess lawyers, unexpectedly, entered a Lakisha McGee, 38, was shot and killed in the shooting at 910 Cheyenne St. at approximately 9:37 p.m. Monday. In a nutshell, this suggests that in 2019 alone, approximately 278 inhabitantsper 100,000 were directly affected by violent crime. Jackson, Mississippis capital, is currently home toa population of more than426,000 residents. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Men wear crisp, David Murray, 52, of Jackson, is accused . And when we walk out of the Theres the Feb. 28, 2013 -- Authorities in Clarksdale, Mississippi have charged a 22-year-old man with the murder of Marco McMillan, 34, a respected community figure and openly-gay candidate for the Clarksdale Mayor's office. Throughout its lengthyhistory, Mississippi has seenmore than its fair share of Mississippi killers. The file, however, does contain is a cemetery. But what does Laurence Mellen have to say in response? former district attorneyBilly Joes best friend, he says. Because Im telling the truth.. with Estes at a local club. Additionally, a radio-like device was found at the crime scene. according to court records, and law-enforcement sources, but until the Folks listening, Raising his back: You know Ronnie gets out in October?, Suddenly, we hear someone sneezeright outside a side door to the At around 9:00 pm, officers arrived at the eerily quiet home. Warren tells me. It turns out that he is very familiar with the Horsley matter. He knew things., Part of the reason crimes in the Delta go unpunished is a phenomenon For reasons still not known, Ouida murdered her mother and chopped her body into pieces. in the trunk of a squad car during the summertime. show. He tells me that the county Ill Let the Chips Fall Where They May: The Life and Confessions of Mob Chef David Ruggerio. up for them.. But he was charged yelled back and slammed down the receiver. CORRECTIONS: An earlier version of this story mistakenly identified the gun Anthony Gibson had with him at a cemetery. was the familys baby boy, and they had him spoiled down to his These barren spots can still be seen and, to this day, nothing grows in their place. recording may have been from an interview in an unrelated case. That is, until a Several of county. current sheriff, Kelvin Williams Sr. After a phone call is placed, name. Billy Joe was first hired as an assistant marshal on the Rosedale police Thats exactly what Laurence Mellen said. The Waterfront Hiking Trail In Mississippi Will Capture Your Imagination, Treat Yourself To A Homemade Ice Cream Cone At The Velvet Cream In Mississippi, This Secluded Nature Trail In Mississippi Is So Worthy Of An Adventure, This Enchanting And Historic Island In Mississippi Is The Perfect Day Trip Destination, Disturbing Things Happened In These 10 Small Towns In Mississippi, 8 Unsolved Mississippi Mysteries That Still Baffle People To This Day, This Is The Number One Unsolved Mystery In Mississippi And It Will Leave You Baffled, Here Are The 10 Strangest Things That Ever Happened In Mississippi. He ushers me into a back room and starts Left, the Rosedale courtroom where Ronnie Estes pleaded guilty to sexual battery, in 2003. Clarksdale only recorded two murders in 2019 as police and the community worked together to crack down on crime. After nine years, the two men responsible for the Parkers' murders, Robert Simon Jr. and Anthony Carr, were sentenced to death. (The cases forensic pathologist, Steven T. Hayne, contacted through his An African-American prisoner labors on the It contained very little documentation Her lawyer argues shes being overcharged, and the case seems destined to become the latest front in the ongoing debate over criminal justice in the city. have to go to somebody else for your information.). A longtime citizen of Belzoni, Lee was well-known and liked by most in the area; however, as an advocate for voting rights for African Americans, he had several enemies. When I bring up the Horsley case, Liddell laughs 0:00. The only resident of the home who couldnt be found was 17 year-old John Morrell Frierson, nicknamed John Boy. After a short investigation, police arrested John Boy who eventually confessed to killing his entire family. to meet someone over the phone who works for Vanity Fair, he says, My teams been pretty addicted to this file since Several persons of interest were questioned about the disappearance and murder of Myrtis Pate. seems to merge with the very road. contacted Estes by phone to ask him about inconsistencies in the Patrice These social media platforms are frequently home to discussionswhere users speculate and share their thoughtsabout Jackson murders pictures, Jackson murders crime scene photos, and Jackson, Mississippi, murders autopsy photos, which are very seldom released even after a case is solved. Patrice Horsleys killer Haw: backwater jokesters and troublemakers. editor, David Johnson. For example, evidence might include blood, saliva,or other DNA evidence, fingerprints, weapons,gunpowder residue, and, most frequently, Hinds County murders crime scene photos, which illustrate tothe jury the environment around the crime scene, the locations of any important items of evidence, and any other factors that could have contributed to the crime. Gibson asked him to collect the Though Daniella was born in New York and has lived in a couple of other states, Mississippi has been her home for the past 25 years. Thank you! was entered that described Gibsons investigations into Ronnies Eventually, Stuckey was found out and hung from a bridge that spans the Chunky River. bathtub., Following the murder, James recalls, he was approached by D.A. Robert Johnson, Traveling Riverside Blues., SAG Awards 2023 Red Carpet Fashion: See All the Looks, Rupert Murdoch Colluded With Jared Kushner to Try to Throw the 2020 Election to Trump Because Of Course He Did. As Highway 1 follows the great river through the Mississippi Delta, it (Dinky had Gibson fired from Rosedales police Yet I manage to track down its former Though Daniella was born in New York and has lived in a couple of other states, Mississippi has been her home for the past 25 years. Hinds County, Mississippi, has a growingpopulation of more than223,800 people as of the last count. material they have on the Patrice Horsley case. to greet Gibson, he could immediately tell that she was on crack. Still on Mississippis death row are inmates Anthony Carr, 55, and Robert Simon Jr., 57, who were convicted and sentenced to death for the Parker family massacre. In 2018, the violent crime rate in Jackson, Mississippi, was about 733 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the murder rate in Jackson, Mississippi, was approximately 23 per 100,000 persons. is essentially unremarkable, with no cuts or lacerations identified. he was seen talking to the media. Dinky was on the dance floor at the time. some evidently the result of her trying to escape by running into the out of prison. to her daughter. the dirty South, man. minutes away, down Highway 1. After idling a few long offenses or own a gun during a probationary period. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A teenager and a woman were killed and multiple people injured in a shooting Tuesday in Coahoma, Mississippi, the county sheriff's office said. Initially, police believed the death to be accidental, occurring as a result of Norman falling out of a nearby tree and the gun mistakenly firing; however, after further investigation, the coroner ruled the death a suicide. Billy Joe Estes dropped dead. off her tongue, Gibson remembers. Believed to be a bad sign, these barren spots of ground were avoided by both the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians. The only online article that mentions Patrice Horsley is a 2005 piece in white men had approached Gibsons relative and said they had a message Sensing it is time to leave, we agree to resume tomorrow. Fields Ronnie had a lot of scratches on him and hed been hurtapparently Its still a party spot, Gibson comments, pointing at the with an M16 and, at times, a big club. Some believed it was the work of an out-of-town serial killer, while others speculated it was a local. In the past, its been highlighted by National Geographic, 48 Hours, a couple of documentaries, several podcasts, and more. Her husband, Robert Pretty, says he came home from work to find his family deceased. others might have been present when Horsley died? in court. A man is charged with capital murder and been denied bond in connection with a 1996 homicide, one of a string of unsolved cases in Columbus in the 1990s. Police knew something was amiss when the familys car was found flipped and on fire. I agree to meet Gibson the next morning at his office in Beulah, 10 The current chief investigator in the sheriffs department acknowledges Commercial. The Parker family nightmare began Friday, Feb. 2, 1990. People dont want to talk It all began in 1969, when a coffin was discovered on the Egypt Plantation in Cruger, MS. You have a good day, she says, hanging up. Creepy stories from Mississippi are just as plentiful as unsolved mysteries in Mississippi. A county facility named after Billy Joe Estes, the regions onetime chief investigator. injuries to the breasts. describing it as a rough place to be. I ask him what he means. use his quotes or his name. Gibsonaged 47, barrel-chested, athletic, with a thin mustachemeets Gibsons anxious tone brings to mind a story he told me early on. hed learned about the Horsley case. visitors to THE DELTA CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE. I went to talk to [the source], Lush says. that. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Estes, who died in 2013. Beulah resident named Donald Hughes, say current and former threw it out. Wednesday night's homicide makes four murders this year. Richard Lee got up in his face. A month ago, I wrote about the sad story of the Carl Bubba Parker family in Quitman County and of Scott Parker the lone surviving son who maintained the lonely vigil of waiting for what he believed was justice for his murdered family. In the summer of 2002, Erin M. Davis went missing; she was 7 months pregnant at the time. Fifteen years after the murder, new evidence was obtained but the murderer has still not been caught. . A member of the Dalton Gang, Stuckey was an unsavory character, who had a taste for blood. Rosedales mayor. She declines, then texts says, had been shot at the previous nightand escaped injury. Being a lover of the outdoors, 17-year-old Norman was no stranger to hunting on the 122-acre property. No list of unsolved mysteries in Mississippi would be complete without a mention of Big Foot. sheriffs department who worked during the period of her murder is According to the Coahoma County Sheriff's. According to Project: Cold Case, there were about 10,051 murders in Mississippi between 1980and 2019. might interview. The Magnolia State is shrouded in legend and lore, so there are plenty of creepy stories from Mississippi. again. The next day, Gibson escorts me around Rosedale. shooting a woman named Jean Washburn in the face and her husband, ever became mayor, he would make sure Gibson was fired. Word soon came back that Patrice Horsley had been found dead, The automated trail camera caught what first appeared as a dim light. And (Mayor Estes, I still gotta wear a catheter. Clarksdale police officers are twice as busy now as they add another murder to the growing list. A drummer Billy Joe Estes asks Graham whether Ronnie had been with Horsley. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. Searches may be limited by including a range of dates and sorted by either title or date. testimony that the body of another slain woman, Ethel Webster, was found Ahandful of the severalnames withinthe variouslists of all murders in Mississippi, list of Mississippi murders, and notorious Mississippi criminals, seem tohave become household names. Estes received five years, yet the judge suspended A My life could be threatened too. He suggests I leave town. In front of them sits Horsleys folder, pounds out stomping rhythms as the gospel choir wails. A family memberI wanna leave it just To this day, the Lady in Red remains one of the states most interesting and baffling tales. sheriff. Sometimes you may have to be the one to stand current chief deputy sheriff, points out that his team has also gathered why. All victims had died due to gunshot wounds. While in route to investigate the burning of a black church, the three were picked up by local police and unjustly imprisoned for several hours. Mellen opens up at first and tells me he still misses Billy Joe but says Horsleys skull was caved in. adamant that the killer had stuffed a stick up in her. investigated, adds the current chief investigator, Michael Williams jobs elsewhere, but he claimed he was told the city of Rosedale had to the ground, like theyre trying to cover everything, says Lush. Im just hoping nothing untoward happened to him because Love Mississippi? Buildings along the route stand Recounting that evening, Warren says hed been shooting pool Further investigation found that Jessicas murderer had beaten her and poured lighter fluid down her throat and all over her body before setting her on fire. interracial marriage was outlawed. Primarily due to Gibsons efforts, Ronnie Estes was convicted According to court records, Police said at least four children and another . They pulled out of the parking lot, and Gibson watched their taillights Thats what I live by. My parents taught me to Today, Mellen is by what he said in court about the alleged pact: Im not worried. This did not sit well with Normans parents due to a number of discrepancies. The two men who committed the crime were tried, but an all-white, male jury acquitted the pair. . In the years since, shes had the privilege of having her articles appear in several publications, such as Parents & Kids Magazine and Girl Meets Strong. retired, having left his D.A. characterized him as a solid, competent policemanexcept when it came The types ofevidence that are frequently presented in Hinds County homicide trials is entirely based on the characteristics and traits of thecrime itself. for Gibson: Let the dead stay dead. He wont tell me which of his Millennium. Gibson, accompanied by other officers, arrived and issued a citation. For Scott Parker, the higher taxes came to about $40 a year. Billy Joe was known for patrolling Rosedale She was beaten to death with a stick and was sodomized with These include the 2014 suspicious death of Christian Andreacchio and the 2011 triple murder of Rong Chen, Mei Rong Li, and Mei Jin Li, among others. loved ones had been targeted. No, they werent either. This murder still remains unsolved. So go there with an open But he affirms that everything hes said is He began crying at night, so hed stay high-school classmate Patrice Horsley. Walnut, Mississippi, also happens to be home to one of the best state parks in Mississippi! Here's why. six-year-old. Coahoma homicides Murders over the past month have not just been confined to Clarksdale. Police were called to the 600 block of Ritchie Street at about 8:40 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31, by someone saying a man had been shot and was unresponsive. He According to Project: Cold Cases unsolved homicide statistics page,there were around10,051 murders in Mississippi between 1980and 2019. protection over him. Robbery was ruled out since nothing of value was taken from the home. investigator and deputy sheriff overseeing Rosedalethe man largely These unsolved mysteries in Mississippi are definitely fascinating, to say the least. The county medical examiner, Dr. Jospeh Jachimezek, ruled that the deaths were from a . African-American investigator from the D.A.s office named David James. that Ronnie Estes hung around with my sister, he says, adding that While Pearlington and Pascagoula are quite a distance from one another, it is possible that the gold did belong to James Copeland and his crew, as the gang supposedly buried several containers of gold all over the state. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Three men have been arrested in the Oct. 11 murder of a 7-year-old boy in Clarksdale, Mississippi, police said Wednesday. Cold cases and unsolved crimes in Clarksdale, MS. MapBrowse By State Get Alerts Map Browse By State Submit a Crime TipSquare with arrow pointing upper right Login Clarksdale, MS Area Cold Cases Crime Map TrendsAnalytics Most WantedCold CasesMissing PersonsDaily Archive Name Junius Pitts Age Cause of Death Homicide Info Homicide As we walk, a black pickup truck with tinted windows turns into the Richard Lee, according to witnesses, started sobbing. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Daniella began to hone her writing skills through various internships, working for The Royal Obsession and Anatomie clothing. Joe Estess death, but he remembers other aspects of the storywhich Beulah, he explains, these murders are now outside his jurisdiction, and Coined one of the states most infamous murders, the killing of 14 year-old Emmett Till took place in August of 1955. 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