While he was working July 3, he loaded golf cart batteries into the back of a truck. Sure, he had worked at Tardys in the past. They found out later that Flowers uncle, Doyle Simpson, said his .380 automatic had been stolen from the glove box of his car parked at the Angelica Garment Factory where he worked. Sure, onceIn the Dark is over the heat will diminish slightly. Maybe theyll cover that in their next season. "We have never had any evidence that showed anything other than this defendant's guilt," Evans said. Simplistic journalism ethics call for reporters to follow the facts wherever they might lead. Jessie Mae Hemphill; Jimmie Gordon; Jimmy "Duck" Holmes; Jimmy Burns; Jimmy Dawkins; Jimmy Holmes; Jimmy Johnson; . 1. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. . If Gamble and McKenzie were in Mississippi the day of the Winona murders its very possible that Presley was with them. The Dallas Morning News Homepage. And why didnt DA Doug Evans even consider the Presley-Gamble connection? Willie James Hemphill was detained for 11 days following the Hardy Furniture murders and wore the same brand of shoes as the bloody footprints found at the scene. Her new position on exactly what happened that morning is likely to be heard by a jury if Fleming faces one for a seventh time. Willie Hemphill's passing at the age of 97 has been publicly announced by Arnold Family Funeral Services Inc. - Hillside Chapel in Altadena, CA.Legacy invites you to offer condolences and share memori That brings us to a theory that has been explored extensively by some of the folks currently representing Mr. Baran found Hemphills booking card showing he had been arrested and jailed a few days after the killing. Prosecutors have always said that Curtis Flowers was the only serious suspect in the Tardy Furniture investigation. And Gamble wore Fila sneakers the same brand of shoe that left a bloody footprint at the Tardy Furniture scene. It takes no imagination at all to imagine Marcus Presley committing a crime like thatwe have the video from the pawn shop. Presley and Gamble did four of the June heists together and one crime was perpetrated by Presley alone. Baran said she reached out to the two state investigators who questioned Hemphill, Matthews and Wayne Miller. Hemphill's ex-girlfriend Monkra Moore told In the Dark that she and Hemphill lived together on the east side of Winona in 1996 and that he was at home around 7 a.m. on the morning of the murders when she was leaving for work. Mississippi Smoldering: Tom Mangold reports on the Curtis Flowers case in 2009, Dwelling in a land of disbelief: My University Years . And, unlike Curtis, Doyle had more than a passing acquaintance with organized crime (a mobster once left him for dead in a field outside of New Orleans). Armstrong said a law enforcement officer told him the gun had been sent to the state Crime Lab, determining this .380 handgun wasnt the murder weapon. He lived near Tardy Furniture at the time of the murders, and near where a gun that might have been the murder weapon was found. Obituaries Section. But how could a single person (especially a man like Curtis Flowers) dispatch four victims with a bullet to the back of the head? Willie James Hemphill Willie Hemphill (1919 - 2000) Jump to: Bio graphy Family Photos Comments Obit uary. "I don't understand how she said that.". If it hadnt been for a single slip of paper in the prosecutors file with Willie James Hemphills name on it, theIn the Dark squad wouldnt have known about the man. The U.S. Supreme Court decided 7-to-1 that prosecutors unconstitutionally eliminated black jurors during the trial proceedings for Timothy Tyrone Foster in 1987. analysis of his record of striking potential black jurors, Curtis Flowers' prosecution witness says testimony was all 'make believe', Recanted testimony, subjective science helps put Curtis Flowers on death row, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Willie James Hemphill didn't come up until the sixth Flowers trial, and law enforcement officers said he was eliminated as a suspect in about five minutes. He spent 11 days in jail before authorities released him. Curtis Flowers: Tardy Furniture store murders case takes twist - news It took the In the Dark team a full year to track Hemphill down in an Indianapolis courtroom (he's still getting into trouble). The Tardy Furniture murders were committed at a store on Front Street in Winona, Mississippi, at about 10 a.m., and around the time that one of the store's employees, Carmen Rigby, was returning with a bank bag. When he showed up the Montgomery County Sheriffs Department two days later, he said, they immediately cuffed him and that the investigators made it clear he was a suspect. When Baran and her producer eventually tracked down the right Hemphill, he told them, Yeah, they actually had me as a suspect in that.. Prior to his death, Doyle came across as a passive man working hard to stay out of trouble. When Snow told police that the man she saw was about 5-foot-6, investigator John Johnson corrected her, saying she had already given the heights as 5-foot-10, according to an audio tape obtained by APM Reports. Each victim of the July 16, 1996 murders was murdered execution styleone or two bullets to the back of the head. But instead of stopping there, its reporters started snitching to the same system whose injustice they had just unmasked. My mom, my stepdad were afraid that, hey, if they're manhunting me like that, they may shoot me down in the street, Hemphill told them. Lived In Sidon MS, Indianapolis IN, Prince George VA, Clarksville TN. What are we supposed to think? Following their Alabama crime spree, Presley and Gamble fled north to Boston, where Gamble had relatives. How do we create a person's profile? He will be held in a county jail while its decided if he should face trial for a stunning seventh time. His father had, for just a few months, been the first sheriff in the county, but returned to farming his land. Can Marcus Presleys affidavit be trusted? INDIANAPOLIS At first, Willie James Hemphill was calm. View Actual Score Check Background . They also discovered an unfired .380 bullet, which might suggest the gun jammed. Hired by Starz to examine the case, Saums said the crime"suggests somebody who has done it before. He lived near Tardy Furniture at the time of the murders, and near where a gun that might have been the murder weapon was found. Also known as Willie L Hemphill, Hemphill Wilie. Podcasts should stick to exonerating the innocent | The Outline with Reverend Shane Russell officiating, assisted by Max Bennett. If you recall our last conversation, I wasnt in the city., Reporter: You said you were in Memphis with Twanda Woods. Search by Name Search . Free this man. Share to Twitter. Evidence of false testimony by prosecution witnesses could potentially get Flowers' conviction overturned, Bennett Gershman, a former prosecutor who now teaches law at Pace University, told the APM reporting team. William is related to Alicia Kristen Hemphill . One of them, LaSamuel Gamble, had more money in his possession when he returned to Alabama, Presley said. Katie Ali had been researching parallels between the Tardy Furniture murders and a string of similar crimes that had happened that same summer in neighboring Alabama. It was June 21 just an hour before the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn Curtis Flowers' conviction and reporters for In the Dark had intercepted Hemphill at a courthouse in Indianapolis. . District Attorney Doug Evans insisted he'd given the defense access to all records of the investigation. Submit an Obituary. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film Belfast. Mississippi Highway Patrol Lt. Wayne Miller, the investigator who created the lineup, testified that the only suspect pictured in the lineup was Flowers. John Johnson, the DAs investigator, told the jury, I think they talked to him for five minutes. But this week she told journalist Madeleine Baran that she was wrong. A photo array that contains Marcus Presley (No. Store employees were threatened with death and forced to lie on the floor. Passed away February 25, 2012. They didnt question him about other suspects or bring up Flowers name. Maybe Doyle did the deed and reported his gun stolen to throw everyone off the scent. Willie Hemphill Obituary (2017) - Rock Hill, SC - The Herald - Legacy.com James Mather at IMDb; This page was last . But there was a three-week gap in the Alabama crime spree right at the time of the Tardy murders. Judge Joseph Loper asked Evans if the state had any exculpatory evidence.. In The Darks reporting on the case documented the inequities and outright barbarism of Mississippis criminal justice system. The podcasts decision to try to figure out who may have actually committed the murders at the Tardy Furniture store in Winona, Mississippi isnt surprising. OBITUARIES. The suspects include the gunman in an Alabama crime spree that summer that bore several similarities to the Winona killings and a violent career criminal who at the time of the murders was living with a girlfriend across from the furniture store. Marcus Presley, the gunman in the Alabama crime spree, was staring up at Ali from among the six photos in the lineup. Who was he? Memphis is two hours north of Winona, just across the border with Tennessee. Right now, Willie Hemphill lives in Rock Hill, SC. But maybe she didnt see anyone at all. Contact Jerry Mitchell at 601-961-7064 or jmitchell@gannett.com. Submit an Obituary. If Flowers did what he is accused of doing, he deserves his punishment, Armstrong said. Find an Obituary. 2. Willie James Hemphill Addresses Click Here For Willie James Hemphill's Last Known Address 1241 Hatfield Dr, Evansville, IN 47714 1001 Mississippi Ave, Greenwood, MS 38930. His age is 79. Visitation will be observed from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. Not the right Willie? Officers gave him a gunshot residue test, finding oneparticle of residue. And then Hemphill stormed off, ending the interview. "I think we pretty much ruled him out from the get-go," Matthews testified. Willie Hemphill, Virginia (30 matches): Phone Number, Email, Address Past Addresses: Shelby NC, Shelby NC +7 more. According to testimony in Flowers' first trial, authorities found $255 hidden in the headboard of Flowers' girlfriend. Select this result to view William Thomas Hemphill's phone number, address, and more. I knew Curtis had started to get involved in crack. The presence of Presley in the lineup raised some questions about the testimony of law enforcement witnesses who'd said under oath that Presley was never a suspect in the Tardy case. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Willie James Hemphill (1952 - 2006) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. LOW HIGH. Flowers through six trials present Presley and Gamble as an alternative theory of the crime? He said: "If it wasn't for the fact that I had an airtight alibi, I could be the one on death row right now. Who was he? And if the two had spent just an hour at the mall assuming the mall, which is now closed, opened as early as 9 a.m. they'd have needed to leave Winona no later than 7 o'clock that morning.