GUILTY MS - Marco McMillian, 34, found murdered, Clarksdale, 26 Feb 2013

[Reader]

http://www.centurylink.net/news/read.php?rip_id=<DA4NAMNG3@news.ap.org>&ps=1011

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi mayoral candidate was found dead Wednesday and the case is being investigated as a homicide, authorities said.

Coahoma County Coroner Scotty Meredith said the body of 34-year-old Marco McMillian was found on the Mississippi River levee Wednesday at about 10 a.m.

The 34-year-old McMillian was running for mayor of Clarksdale, a Blues hub where actor and Mississippi native Morgan Freeman co-owns a music club with Howard Stovall, a Memphis entertainment executive, and Bill Luckett, who also is running for mayor............

The sheriff's office said Wednesday in a news release on its Facebook page that a person of interest was in custody, but had not been formally charged.

More at link.....

 

[Reader]

Miss. town stunned by slaying of mayoral candidate

http://www.centurylink.net/news/read.php?rip_id=<DA4NIRP01@news.ap.org>&ps=1011&page=1

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Whatever his prospects for winning the coming mayoral election in his hometown of Clarksdale, Miss., Marco McMillian was considered by many to be a man on the rise. So word spread fast when his SUV was involved in a wreck this week, and he was nowhere to be found.

The discovery of the openly gay candidate's body near a Mississippi River levee Wednesday stunned residents of Clarksdale, a Blues mecca in the flatlands of the Mississippi Delta.

Authorities were investigating McMillian's death as a homicide, and said a person of interest was in custody, but released few other details.

"There's a lot of people upset about it," said Dennis Thomas, 33, who works at Abe's Barbeque.

"Why would somebody want to do something like that to somebody of that caliber? He was a highly respected person in town," Thomas said.

More at link.....

Was this a hate crime?

 

[i.b.nora]

Gay, Black, Democrat, Mississippi.

 

[Reader]

Man arrested in killing of gay mayoral candidate in Mississippi

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/...idate-in-mississippi-20130228,0,7289545.story

A 22-year-old Mississippi man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of an openly gay candidate for mayor of Clarksdale, Miss., officials said.

Lawrence Reed of Shelby, a resident of Clarksdale, was charged with murder, the Coahoma County sheriff&#8217;s office announced on Thursday.

There was no immediate indication of a possible motive............

Jarod Keith, McMillian&#8217;s campaign spokesman, confirmed the candidate was openly gay but said it never came up during the campaign.

&#8220;We remember Marco as a bold and passionate public servant, whose faith informed every aspect of his life,&#8221; Keith said in a statement issued on Wednesday. &#8220;Tragically, that life has been cut short.&#8221;

 

[Snick1946]

Gay, Black, Democrat, Mississippi.

Toxic mix. My take exactly, but time will tell...

 

[Reader]

Miss. rep. asks FBI to review candidate's death

http://www.centurylink.net/news/read.php?id=19357776&ps=931&cat=&cps=0&lang=en

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi congressman is asking the FBI to review the slaying of an openly gay mayoral candidate to determine if any federal laws might have been violated............

A person with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to The Associated Press that McMillian's body was bruised and there were burns on at least one area. The person wasn't authorized to publicly comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

[Reader]

Mysterious Mississippi murder stokes suspicions bred by an ugly past

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/20/us/mississippi-murder-mystery/index.html?hpt=hp_t5


An in depth look at this case...lot of unanswered questions...

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=40582

Trial began Monday for a man accused of killing Clarksdale mayoral candidate Marco McMillian in 2013. Lawrence Reed faces murder charges for allegedly strangling McMillian in Quitman County in February 2013, then dumping his body near the Mississippi River levee in Coahoma County, dousing it with gasoline and setting it on fire...

Prosecutors say phone records indicate McMillian and Reed knew each other before the aspiring politician's nude, battered body was found Feb. 27. Officials have testified that Reed told investigators that McMillian invited him to a party before driving him on a back road, stopping his vehicle and watching *advertiser censored* on his phone.

An autopsy found there were abrasions and lacerations on McMillian's head, back and legs and multiple "areas of second and third degree burns" on his body. Some of the cuts were from a "sharp and or pointed object," it said.

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/28356613/attorney-lawrence-reed-murder-trial-will-wrap-up-quickly

Investigators testified to what Reed told them about strangling McMillian with a chain from his wallet.

Parks said the State got Reed to confess on tape to the killing and that Reed told a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper where McMillian's body was. Parks also said the State has video of Reed buying the gasoline he allegedly burned McMillian with on camera...

Parks also said that he expects Reed's attorney to introduce a gay panic defense to get his client's sentence reduced to manslaughter.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.edgeboston.com/news/news/173568/man_convicted_of_killing_gay_miss_mayoral_candidate

A Mississippi man on Thursday was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury found him guilty of murder in the 2013 slaying of an openly gay candidate for mayor of Clarksdale.

Jurors in Quitman County deliberated less than two hours before convicting Lawrence Reed, 24.