GUILTY MS - Carnesha Nelson, 20, Moss Point, 27 May 2004

According to Panola County Sheriff Investigator Mark Whitten, the only witness in a preliminary hearing, friends said Nelson “was leery” of 26-year-old Demetrius Smith of Lambert, who was charged with her murder just days after her body was found in May...

On May 29, fishermen discovered the body of the19-year-old Moss Point woman floating in the upper lake region of Sardis Lake... Preliminary autopsy reports revealed Nelson drowned, and forensic pathologist Steven Haynes, who performed the autopsy, said bruising on Nelson's body was consistent with being held underwater...

Nelson had last been seen about 1 a.m. May 27 at her Anderson Road apartment by a neighbor who reported her pounding on the door and screaming that she had been raped. Two other neighbors called police to report a woman's screams.

Click to expand...

After a jury trial, Smith was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Click to expand...