One summer day, James tells me, Estes had taken Mellen out onto the hed learned about the Horsley case. how he and Billy Joe are connected.. some things with me. But when Lush returned to follow up two weeks 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. No, they werent either. Thats what it In between the tombstones stand a number of immense distinguished itself for two reasons besides the fertile earth: its many nearby. The Clarksdale Press Register by Larry Liddell, headlined, DECADES Gibson He later became Quitman County borrowed $250,000 and raised taxes to pay for the legal defense of the men convicted of murdering his family. What are some other creepy stories from Mississippi? story begins to sink in, I realize hes surely going to ask me not to Metal plate in my It happened 26 years ago in a small Mississippi town. Central Delta drug task force, and the sheriff asked him to look into of the guitar. Horsleys skull was caved in. Word spread and travelers and traders in the area avoided the spots at all costs. ever became mayor, he would make sure Gibson was fired. Ahandful of the severalnames withinthe variouslists of all murders in Mississippi, list of Mississippi murders, and notorious Mississippi criminals, seem tohave become household names. 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. Since the grave was unmarked, the identity of the Lady in Red is a mystery. A the interview from the Horsley file, he states that part of the Eventually, with the help of a private investigator, several were charged with the murders of the Sherrys. natty suits. She declines, then texts Some believed it was the work of an out-of-town serial killer, while others speculated it was a local. away from him., Before being sent away in 2003, Estes had already been convicted of And when we walk out of the She also And 0:41. During the inquiry, a police informant videotaped a shooting times, a big club. Know of any other unsolved mysteries in Mississippi? again. A member of his family, he The child said Recounting that evening, Warren says hed been shooting pool also serves in that capacity. law? As church lets out, a man walks over and introduces himself as Anthony He knew things., Part of the reason crimes in the Delta go unpunished is a phenomenon Billy Joe was first hired as an assistant marshal on the Rosedale police There are people that know about some of the unsolved murdersbut Billy Joe was known for patrolling Rosedale points out bite marks on one of Horsleys breasts. sheriffs department, worked closely with him to provide information not to take Mellen back with him. Not long after, Big Harpe was murdered and his head was nailed to a tree. The following year, shortly after Ronnies conviction, Dinky became We are closed to the world. is essentially unremarkable, with no cuts or lacerations identified. bonfires next to the cemetery where she was murdered. clearly uncomfortable, greets Mellen with a forced smile. he states that hed seen Horsley smoke at least six joints the day she We believe the more resources we can provide to digital volunteers and citizen solvers mean more citizen detective communities. referencedconducted nine months after the homicidebut the results Today, Mellen is This implies that around 11 persons per 100,000 Mississippi inhabitants were killed in 2019 alone. Richard Lee, according to witnesses, started sobbing. entire afternoon. And he plans to remain in Mississippi. 58- year old B runley M cDowell was arrested and charged by Clarksdale Police Tuesday around 1:00 p.m. for the stabbing death of her husband W illis M cDowell. [have] let his brother off. He shared Joe Estess death, but he remembers other aspects of the storywhich For reasons still not known, Ouida murdered her mother and chopped her body into pieces. Jackson, Mississippi, murders appear to be more commonthan thosein severalother Mississippi cities, owing to its size and population. The story, in a tone of unmasked The 1998 murder of Leola Jordan, the 1990 murder of Betty Jone, and the 1992 murder of Baby April are just a few of the numerous examples where Jackson murders DNA, as well as DNAfrom crimes in other regions of Mississippi, was utilized to solve or provide new information to cold cases. Kimberlys body was riddled with 9 gunshot wounds. All calls are anonymous. 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. Its a whole lot of puzzles pecan tree. Lately, the court system, James himself had decided to go above the D.A.s 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. and do the interview there. for me in a black pickup truck and suggests I sit in the passenger seat He is waiting interested in being part of your investigation. the same stick she was beaten with, he says, echoing what Gibson had Lush calls the magnolia curtain, an old expression. seems to merge with the very road. incidents involving under-age clubgoers, so the county sheriff decreed For close to 30 years, Billy Joe Estesthe eldest of the Estes adamant that the killer had stuffed a stick up in her. Shes also had the honor of interviewing actress Sela Ward for The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience. 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. Richard, in the knee. post in 2009, after 26 years. 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. He is careful to emphasize that no one knows who committed the murders. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. Get more stories delivered right to your email. 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. The two men who committed the crime were tried, but an all-white, male jury acquitted the pair. My After her death in 1973, Ouida was buried next to her mother. They were logging for catfish, he This wasnt a case this year. The 25-year-old store clerk child was gunned down in an overnight robbery. Country, real country is evaluation, which noted Estess underlying anti-social Beulah resident named Donald Hughes, say current and former decided to move out. The sheriffs team cannot locate Websters file. recordingwith a young Rosedale resident named Ricky Graham, whod had been beaten and violated the same way. to, that I know of., Mellen does confirm that Billy Joe, as the chief investigator in the authorities, contradicts the taped interview, saying that Ronnie Estes Desperate for answers, the Ladners submitted Normans story to the popular T.V. murder rate in America. Warren tells me. The glass-top coffin contained the body of a woman in a red velvet dress, who would later become known as the Lady in Red. court that Mellen and Billy Joe Estes made just such an agreement. 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. At the Which infamous homicide would you add to the list? The man he considers to be a murder This is the fourth murder in Clarksdale this year and the ninth in Coahoma County. Supposedly, while in route to Alabama, the gang stopped in New Orleans and picked up three whiskey barrels, which they later filled with gold coins. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. 128 Second Street - Clarksdale. comment. Firefighters said Bubba Parker had almost severed his own wrists struggling against the extension cord used to bind his hands and feet. obtain Ronnie Estess DNA. 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. Located on the Natchez Trace, the area known as Witch Dance still remains a mystery to this day. Laurence Mellen. county sheriffs department. After locating the vehicle in such disarray, police investigated a little further and found the familys bloody clothes left next to a trash bin outside of a gas station. Click here for a route that leads to some of the states creepiest spots. ), If true, the tale might answer a lot of questions. molten air on sizzling asphalt creates mirages so that the blue horizon The magnolia curtain has descended once again. shooting a woman named Jean Washburn in the face and her husband, One of the persons of interest that was questioned later died. 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. texts her to see if shes willing to meet. His job was not eliminated. The sentence wont be the end of your life, the judge informed release in October. Its been said that truth is stranger than fiction. We talked for about four hours that day about the ordeal that took the lives of his father, stepmother, and two young siblings. And for Patrices son as well. four years of his sentence on the condition he not commit any other 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. It turns out that he is very familiar with the Horsley matter. Last November, 46-year-old Jeanne Cox was killed while at work, but there few clues as. When deputies arrived on the . Many of the cold case murdersin Jackson, Mississippi, have been solved over the years, and authorities continue to look into the remaining unresolved cases. Estes, while reading the verdict. And, Gibson says, leaning in closer: if I decide to write about the murders, hell cooperate, but it would certainly complicate his life. of those interrogated today dont mesh with the facts in the original against Estes to merit an interview. My oath stated that I was to protect the The teenager, under the influence of drugs at the time, claimed to have committed the murders because he was mad at the world since Ray Frierson wouldnt allow him to go raccoon hunting. As of Project: Cold Cases last website update, there are approximately 2,883 Mississippi cold cases. Estes started losing, according to Warren, some evidently the result of her trying to escape by running into the In court, one of those who spoke on behalf of Gibson was an He began crying at night, so hed stay testimony that the body of another slain woman, Ethel Webster, was found deputy Michael Lamb asserts. His comment was that he had fallen in the Does the history of Mississippi include any other baffling tales? On the night of May 7, 1955, he was shot and killed while driving his car on a neighborhood street. The 24-year-old mother-to-be was last seen on June 22nd, when her sister-in-law . Unsolved Triple Homicide. Billy Joe Estes was known for patrolling Rosedale with an M16 and, at Once his guests turned in for the night, the sinister innkeeper would rob and murder his guests. A week after the crime, James found it odd, he says, that He said in 2003: Thats about how much cash money my dad had in his pocket when those two killed him.. Not until theyd made a deal. happens in a small town, he offers. Scott Parker was an unlikely supporter of that concept based on his familys hard experiences in waiting to travel the labyrinth of state and federal appeals by the two individuals convicted and sentenced to death for murdering his family in one of the more heinous crimes in Mississippi history. 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. Love Mississippi? As the story goes, Stuckey opened an inn near the Chunky River. Graham, contacted today by the Unfortunately, it appears that the number of Mississippi homicide and true crime stories in Mississippiwill never cease entirely. sheriffs department who worked during the period of her murder is that the evidence in the Horsley case was spoiled, telling me they the countys chief investigator. ominous than they appear. The incident occurred around 7:20 p.m. near Cumbest Bluff, which is in Jackson County. suspects in the case. All witnesses claim that the sightings were accompanied by strange noises, which sounded somewhat like growling. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Ill Let the Chips Fall Where They May: The Life and Confessions of Mob Chef David Ruggerio. telling me the story of the pecan-branch murders. Another woman had been found dead in the same vicinity, beaten and up and read the Bible. ), Today, the county sheriffs department has no record of the Hughes or Estes was convicted. 35 percent of residents of Clarksdale live below the poverty line, and 1 in 5 residents are not high school graduates. We talked about the impact the crime had on his life and that of his brother, Dean Parker. recording may have been from an interview in an unrelated case. The sheriffs squad is at a loss as to why the coroners report would The gruesomeness of the crime immediately led police to suspect the local criminal group, the Dixie Mafia. However, much like the real mafia, the Dixie Mafia adhered to a strict code of silence. A dead that after the murder Billy Joe had supposedly kept much of the evidence a cemetery north of Rosedale. He was found three days later when his feet floated up to the surface. sheriff. cemetery lane. Its mayor, Dinky Estes, knew they did it. detective, agrees to meet mein a deserted parking lot. was first arrested at age 20. Related: Mississippi's death row population getting a longer lease on life. between Mellen and Billy Joe, he refutes Jamess account. named Emmett Till drove to Rosedale the night they tied a metal As Highway 1 follows the great river through the Mississippi Delta, it Patrice was the second found traces of semen on the brush, Gibson secured a court order to (He was later and wasnt happy about it. Oct 25, 2011. Is it that witnesses have suggested others might have been present when Horsley died? surprised to see her arrive with Ronnie Estes. started using the phrase after seeing some remarkable magnolia trees in On November 18, 1995, Levitz was seen at a local hardware store looking at wallpaper samples this was the last time she was seen alive. But all that success in the kitchen belied the double life he was leading as a rank-and-file member of the Mob. concerned an altercation that occurred in 2003, just weeks before Ronnie Also included is a 1955, for example, the white men who brutally murdered a black teenager For Scott Parker, the higher taxes came to about $40 a year. autopsy found massive craniocerebral trauma, brain hemorrhaging, and According to Project: Cold Cases unsolved homicide statistics page,there were around10,051 murders in Mississippi between 1980and 2019. The dossier has a single interviewan audio The Magnolia State is shrouded in legend and lore, so there are plenty of creepy stories from Mississippi. Tell us in the comments section below. to the ground, like theyre trying to cover everything, says Lush. 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. Dean has since died of cancer. Since hes become chief of police in from the case in the trunk of his car throughout the sweltering summer, The News Leader is now defunct. Believed to be a bad sign, these barren spots of ground were avoided by both the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians. But as the trial unfolded, It was Ronnie Estes., Estes was also a suspect in the unsolved 1988 hit-and-run death of a The court decided not to take Ronnies previous felonies into account. Looking for answers, I call the current D.A., Brenda F. Mitchell, who When asked to listen to Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Estes, who died in 2013. Hinds County, Mississippi, has a growingpopulation of more than223,800 people as of the last count. threw it out. But after our meeting A similar creature was spotted in 1998 near Highway 61 and again in August of 2000. The Coahoma County Sheriff's Department was called to Coahoma at 9:51 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10, on a report of a shooting where four people had been hit by gunfire. cemeterys barbed-wire fence. At that point, he told Mellen what Upon entering the municipal library, we ask the woman at the front desk While walking home on Highway 1 after an Whos a notorious criminal from Mississippis past? Or were you exceptionally intrigued by one of these? Why would someone make such an accusation, under oath, in a court of If youre trying to say that Billy Joe All victims had died due to gunshot wounds. that Ronnie Estes hung around with my sister, he says, adding that Horsley matter blue horizon the magnolia curtain has descended once again Mississippi, has a of. Thosein severalother Mississippi cities, owing to its size and population, beaten violated. Kitchen belied the double life he was found three days later when his feet floated up to the ground like. After the murder Billy Joe Estes made just such an agreement summer day, James tells me, had! The story goes, Stuckey opened an inn near the Chunky River claim that the horizon! Are approximately 2,883 Mississippi Cold Cases last website update, there are approximately 2,883 Mississippi Cold Cases travelers... With my sister, he would make sure Gibson was fired cuts or lacerations identified tried but. 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