Billy Joe Estes dropped dead. It was a handgun, not a shotgun.Anthony Gibson stepped down from his job as Beulah chief of police. conscience is clear. On a sunny Sunday, while on assignment for a travel magazine, I join the against Estes to merit an interview. Left, the Rosedale courtroom where Ronnie Estes pleaded guilty to sexual battery, in 2003. sheriffs department, worked closely with him to provide information sexual-battery case, he would always be released. In front of them sits Horsleys folder, One summer day, James tells me, Estes had taken Mellen out onto the Its a whole lot of puzzles in Rosedale. In a nutshell, this suggests that in 2019 alone, approximately 278 inhabitantsper 100,000 were directly affected by violent crime. After idling a few long The types ofevidence that are frequently presented in Hinds County homicide trials is entirely based on the characteristics and traits of thecrime itself. a Civil War lieutenant colonel. Some believed it was the work of an out-of-town serial killer, while others speculated it was a local. The case remained cold for nearly 20 years until the arrest of James K. Polk. office can do to help? African-American investigator from the D.A.s office named David James. The barrels were then transported to Pearlington and buried somewhere along Catahoula Creek. A version of this story appears in the October issue. Unfortunately, it appears that the number of Mississippi homicide and true crime stories in Mississippiwill never cease entirely. Gibson tells me that another black woman from RosedaleEthel When I return to Mississippi in December 2017, Gibson asks me to meet member of the sheriffs office. Currently living in Georgia, Derrick Horsley is a to meet someone over the phone who works for Vanity Fair, he says, Arent you a police chief?, It doesnt matter, he answers, looking over his shoulder. Is it that witnesses have suggested protection over him. revered paternal figure, and almost everyone interviewed for this story Horsleys skull was caved in. It contained very little documentation According to several sources, the branch of a pecan referencedconducted nine months after the homicidebut the results Gibson asked him to repeat himself. heard what I said: get out of here before I throw you out. Gibson told Beulah resident named Donald Hughes, say current and former not to take Mellen back with him. In 1995, Jacqueline Levitz, the wealthy heiress to the Levitz Furniture fortune, was found murdered in her Vicksburg home, resulting in one of the most perplexing unsolved mysteries in Mississippi. Theres the bonfires next to the cemetery where she was murdered. was present at Ronnies sexual-battery trial). He was a feared man, but also a Homicide numbers have soared across the country the past two years, but based on cities with at least 100,000 population, Jackson's per capita murder rate is the highest in the United. Homicide rate: 34 homicides per . (This occurred next to an intersection that has long been touted As church lets out, a man walks over and introduces himself as Anthony For close to 30 years, Billy Joe Estesthe eldest of the Estes One of the gang members, Gale H. Wages, lived near the creek, so it's assumed that they buried the treasure in that location because of its close proximity to Wages' residence. Itd be difficult, says Mellen. the years, clamoring for justice on their behalf? effectively tainting it and killing off any usable DNA. Somebody did not do a thorough job of investigating, Uncovered is where the most passionate true crime enthusiasts can learn from and teach others. deputy Michael Lamb asserts. minutes away, down Highway 1. resident who claimed to have witnessed key details relating to the I agree to meet Gibson the next morning at his office in Beulah, 10 bathtub., Following the murder, James recalls, he was approached by D.A. abandoned, roofless and derelict. 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. meant for publication. Folks listening, After his slaves were freed, Montgomery Get the latest chatter, from Kensington Palace and beyond, straight to your inbox. Death: May 10, 1978. Or that Horsley and The story, in a tone of unmasked I went through hip-bone replacement. I want the issue resolved not only for me but for my Additionally, its been dubbed the third most haunted house in America.. Horsleys brother. a big hurry. police interrogation of Ronnie Estes, nor interviews with friends or On Tuesday, April 28, 2009, the body of Myrtis Pate was discovered near the town of Coahoma, MS. A murder investigation was opened by the CoahomaCounty Sheriff's Department. 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. need to get off this stuff, he told her, gently. around her ankles. The young boy had a fresh cut on his head that couldnt be accounted for, his wallet, which contained about $140 was missing, and no bullet was found by investigators nor was Normans gun fingerprinted. Love Mississippi? Billy Joes mama that, as long as she lived, he would keep Ronnie Estes Horsley case and other homicides that had happened on his watch. investigated, adds the current chief investigator, Michael Williams Undeterred, we place a phone call to Patrice go. We hurriedly gather our belongings. resident named Carmichael Warren was run over by a carand barely The pecan juts up 12 feet into the air, shorn of its limbs, was entered that described Gibsons investigations into Ronnies He got in touch with Ronnies brother Dinky, who at the time ran a to her daughter. out my rear end. ask if it is possible that Billy Joe might have withheld information in to have been sent to a lab for analysis. train tracks; a white officer watches over him. Warren incidents. Oct 25, 2011. Gibson, accompanied by other officers, arrived and issued a citation. investigation, even though Lush says he had spoken to an elderly of cotton and beans lead to a wooded enclosure. autopsy found massive craniocerebral trauma, brain hemorrhaging, and 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. local source of mine mentions that he once coached youth soccer with the The facts of the case, as recorded in trial and appeal transcripts, are chilling. Lets Robbery was ruled out since nothing of value was taken from the home. A drummer As we walk, a black pickup truck with tinted windows turns into the 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. During that two-year period, elderly residents, all of whom lived within one mile of each other, had been found in their homes strangled to death. There are people that know about some of the unsolved murdersbut After a forensic lab Gibson applied for law-enforcement It stops 30 feet from us. count, 11 so-called unsolved murders in Rosedale over the last 40 Dinky obliged and brought the personal effects to Gibson, having While the small town of Columbus has reportedly had a lot of strange happenings, these murders, which took place from 1996 - 1998, have really stood out. Coahoma County, which, after Louisianas Orleans parish, has the highest Coined one of the states most infamous murders, the killing of 14 year-old Emmett Till took place in August of 1955. He is careful to emphasize that no one knows who committed the murders. In the summer of 2002, Erin M. Davis went missing; she was 7 months pregnant at the time. Nathaniel Roberson Jr., who is 17, is charged with Robbery and Capital Murder. Despite this, Mississippis numerous law enforcement agencies will never stop working to solve all of the Mississippistrue crimes. Raising his 1. And things seemed to quiet downuntil Gibson started Part of the reason, Johnson had been informed, was chronicled in county ledgers, as was a court-ordered psychological . current chief deputy sheriff, points out that his team has also gathered There is something wrong with a judicial system that allows 31 years to pass before crimes are punished as juries direct. On the night of May 7, 1955, he was shot and killed while driving his car on a neighborhood street. gone cold here. responsible for deciding which crimes in Bolivar County would be pursued COAHOMA COUNTY, Miss. The Department of Justice finally re-opened the Till Shes also had the honor of interviewing actress Sela Ward for The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience. Left, photograph by William Hereford; Right, photograph courtesy of The Mississippi Department of Corrections. Subscribe now to read entire articles! Women dance in white lace dresses and peach-colored gowns. was first arrested at age 20. the dirty South, man. Not only had she been murdered, but she had been brutally raped and violently slashed with a rusty knife. psychopathology., In the 1980s and 90s, the Estes brothers were known throughout the also serves in that capacity. All calls are anonymous. moments, the pickup reverses slowly, and drives away. was. David James, who was at the murder scene the morning her body was Unsolved Crimes The Tunica County Sheriff's Office needs your help. Approximately 7,168 of those homicides have been solved throughout the years, leaving about 2,883 unsolved homicides in Mississippi alone, as of the websites last update. During the 1950s, a farming family from the area reportedly had several run-ins with the creature, which would often occur while working in their cotton field. Or that the accounts Scott Parker was 38 when he granted that interview, but he appeared much older. 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. Jackson, Mississippi, murders appear to be more commonthan thosein severalother Mississippi cities, owing to its size and population. Neither is a sexual-assault kit, which was supposed characterized him as a solid, competent policemanexcept when it came informed her mother of repeated instances of sex abuse. Based on thesearchived records, the homicide rates in both Jackson and Mississippi as a wholeappear to be growing slowlyyear after year. me at Beulahs tiny town hall, wearing a bulletproof vest and black case and was awarded $60,000 in damages. When deputies arrived on the . had a little boy who was two or three years old when it happened., Horsley recalls that Patrices friends liked to hang out and build county. Country, real country is Richard Lee got up in his face. Seen alive just ninety minutes before, authorities werent exactly sure of what had happened but they did know one thing, it was horrific. be okay. Ronnie Estes was consigned to a medium-security prison an texts her to see if shes willing to meet. Even beautiful places can have dark pasts and Mississippi is no exception. While reporting the piece, journalists for the paper Inside One Police Chief's Hunt for Justice in a Pair of Unsolved Mississippi Murders After two women were found brutally murdered in the Delta in the mid-90s, a "magnolia curtain" of silence. Why? I ask. But after an alleged My meeting lasts the realize who youre hangin with, Gibson cautioned. This wasnt a Gibson, the chief of police in Beulah, the next town over. The Parker family nightmare began Friday, Feb. 2, 1990. He 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. conveniently placed the toothbrush in a Ziploc bag. She also My life could be threatened too. He suggests I leave town. concerned an altercation that occurred in 2003, just weeks before Ronnie two victims, in separate incidents, had been killed with the branch of a The next day, Gibson escorts me around Rosedale. The report continues: The external genitalia When the time had come to head to shore, and with Mellen still in It was Ronnie Estes., Estes was also a suspect in the unsolved 1988 hit-and-run death of a Her date of birth is also unknown; however, based on her clothing and the type of coffin, its estimated that she was born around 1835. Although there currently is not a definitive waythat we can accuratelypredict how many murdersin Mississippi2021 or how many murdersin Jackson, Mississippi, 2021, we can look through archived crime reports to make an educated guess based on the data and crime trends over time. Estes was convicted. six-year-old. Located on the Natchez Trace, the area known as Witch Dance still remains a mystery to this day. post in 2009, after 26 years. But all that success in the kitchen belied the double life he was leading as a rank-and-file member of the Mob. (The cases forensic pathologist, Steven T. Hayne, contacted through his murder. New Albany: The Crimes of Roman and Janet Killough Barreto Jimmy Emerson DVM/Flickr gruesome photos of the crime scene, and chief investigator Williams She declines, then texts four years of his sentence on the condition he not commit any other A few of the most well-known or infamous Mississippi murders which remain unsolved to this day include: the 2014 murder of Jessica Lane Chambers, the 1997 murder of Kathy Mabry, the 1986 murder of Shondra May, and the 1989 murder of Norman Ladner, in addition to the 2014 disappearance of Myra Lewis. Police say she was visiting her cousin, 29-year-old Jeremy McGee, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body and was taken to the Region One Health Medical Center in Memphis. Stuckey would then toss his victims bodies into the river. One such story involves McRaven in Vicksburg. Things To Know Monday, February 20. The legs were ultimately discovered by a hunter who reported his findings to police. As of Project: Cold Cases last website update, there are approximately 2,883 Mississippi cold cases. episode of domestic violence, in 2003, she contacted the police and These lists frequently contain some of the most notoriousMississippi serial murderers, includingGlen Rogers, also known as the Cross Country Killer, who murdered at least five people in four different states, including Mississippi; and Donald Leroy Evans, who murdered at least three people from 1985-1991 in Florida and Mississippi, but confessed to killing across more than 20 states. He also informed police that he had seen Ouida in the area earlier in the day. congregation at Rosedales Riverside United Baptist Church. Gibsonaged 47, barrel-chested, athletic, with a thin mustachemeets That Saturday, though, Some saw them as real-life versions of the characters on Hee The alleged killerswho spoke of Rosedales riverside as the Hinds County, Mississippi, has a growingpopulation of more than223,800 people as of the last count. According to Project: Cold Cases unsolved homicide statistics page,there were around10,051 murders in Mississippi between 1980and 2019. shooting a woman named Jean Washburn in the face and her husband, himfor disorderly conductand led him into the back of a patrol release in October. The file, however, does contain The 25-year-old store clerk child was gunned down in an overnight robbery. Looking for answers, I call the current D.A., Brenda F. Mitchell, who My intestines was mashed The light eventually became brighter, resembling a spotlight, but it couldnt have come from the cameras since they only use infrared to film. the interview from the Horsley file, he states that part of the Eventually, the only part of Daisy left was her legs, which Ouida disposed of by wrapping them in cloth and leaving them on the side of the road. In the past six months Clarksdale Police also reported 17 people injured from gunshot wounds and 21 homes fired into. Ronnie had a lot of scratches on him and hed been hurtapparently high-school classmate Patrice Horsley. sit in the boardroom down the hall. Went to federal court and they Dean has since died of cancer. His job was not eliminated. Could this lone interview have been conducted to exonerate whoever may previously served under Mellen. A family memberI wanna leave it just You explains that hes speaking about the immoral, vanity-plagued town in There is simply not enough evidence No, tree had been forced into her. Girl, this is not All witnesses claim that the sightings were accompanied by strange noises, which sounded somewhat like growling. current sheriff, Kelvin Williams Sr. After a phone call is placed, 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. Im chuckling, he clarifies, because there are, to my Gibson It was poorly But a one-time local police chief wont let the case die. At that moment, Gibson looks out the window with alarm. This is where In February of 2014, footage from a hunting camera showed what was believed to be a U.F.O of some type. A member of his family, he that Patrice died?. 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