NEWS & ADVICE. But both denied having committed the Tardy murders and said they'd never even been to Mississippi. Investigators John Johnson and Jack Matthews denied on the stand knowing anything about them. used to implicate Flowers in the Tardy case. And the gun that Armstrong says he discovered is additionally important . But maybe she didnt see anyone at all. AVERAGE AGE. 20181228 Willie James Hemphill Criminal Civil Records Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. Following his release from prison in 2013,Hallmon tried to run over a Carroll County sheriff's deputy while escaping a drug bust. So, if I am forced to pick an alternative perpetrator in this awful case I would lean toward the Birmingham Boys, Presley in particular. Illuminating Journalism from American Public Media. Presley and Gamble made three runs to Boston during the summer of 1996: once after their June crime spree, once after the pawn shop murders and once immediately after the furniture store murders in Winona. Willie James Hemphill was born on June 2, 1941. Maybe theyll cover that in their next season. In the past, Willie has also been known as Willie James Hemphill, Willie A Hemphill, Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill and Willi Hemphill. He's shown a fearlessness about committing brazen attacks and thefts in daylight with high risks and low payoff, in places close to where he's lived and where people are more likely to recognize him. 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. When the podcasts reporter Parker Yesko confronted Hemphill about whether he committed the murders, he denied it, and the show included audio of the hideous, misogynistic things he said in response. Hemphill certainly sounds like a career criminal who is fully capable of committing violence; but he doesnt come off as a psychopathic killerand whoever did the deed at the Tardy furniture store was either a hired killer (or killers) or enjoyed killing people for kicks. While that case was delayed for more than two years, Hallmon murdered three people, including his ex-girlfriend, Marquita Hill, and her mother. "They were investigating that intently back then. Memphis is two hours north of Winona, just across the border with Tennessee. Share to Twitter. US States (36975K) Current Events (51K) Celebrity (272) Exonerated (117) Favorites (421) FBI Most Wanted (848) Gangsters (49) Historical (131) Interpol (1.7K) . Willie Dixon - The Big Three Trio 1947-1952 (Roots N' Blues C 46216) FLAC . Following a masterful turn as Flowers defense lawyer, the podcast also wanted to play the part of the prosecution. According to testimony in Flowers' first trial, authorities found $255 hidden in the headboard of Flowers' girlfriend. Why was he questioned? Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window). The Dallas Morning 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). Even so, they had to wade through a stack of rat-eaten files stored in an abandoned factory to realize he had been booked into jail. His mother lived there, and he had gone to school there on and off. Evidence that prosecution witnesses may have given false testimony could potentially get Flowers' conviction overturned, said Bennett Gershman, a former prosecutor who now teaches law at Pace University. During the sixth Flowers trial, Matthews, who worked with Miller at the Mississippi Highway Patrol, said the only suspect in the case aside from Flowers was Doyle Simpson, whose gun the prosecution argued Flowers stole and used as the murder weapon. Photos. After finding the weapon, Armstrong wondered how the gun had wound up under the house his mother was renting on Knox Street, only 700 feet or so from the furniture store. Fourteen lawyers. And he was undeterred, at first, when he was told that Woods hadn't corroborated his story. Search for Roberto Thorpe Living on Prison Blvd in Sparta, GA. Get started for free to find contact info for nearly any adult in the U.S. In The Darks reporting on the case documented the inequities and outright barbarism of Mississippis criminal justice system. At first he was reluctant to divulge who he was with that morning, but later said it was a woman named Twanda Woods. Her sister says she was in the house with her and not where she said she was.. I knew Curtis had started to get involved in crack. Store employees were threatened with death and forced to lie on the floor. The first of these events took place last month when the US Supreme Court tossed out Flowers conviction. Willie Headen; Willie James Lyons; Willie Love; Willie Mabon; Willie Smith; Willie Trice; Willie Williams; Two weeks later, a picture of Marcus Presley, the shooter in the Birmingham murders, was included in a photo array shown to Porky Collins, a witness in the Winona, Mississippi case. Saums pointed out that Simpson who has since died lied to police about how he had gotten the gun. They didnt question him about other suspects or bring up Flowers name. As I argue in the course of the program, Simpson seemed to be bending over backwards to let the world know that a gun had been stolen from his car in the parking lot of the garment factory where he worked. Burial will follow in Hemphill Star Cemetery, Boyce. The Tardy murders took place during a 24-day gap when the group carried out no robberies in Alabama. 0 Reputation Score Range. He didn't work on July 4, a holiday, and didn't show up for work on July 5, 6 or 8. They wanted to ask him about his alibi for the day of the Tardy Furniture murders, an alibi that hadn't checked out. Maybe Doyle did the deed and reported his gun stolen to throw everyone off the scent. Psychologist John R. Goff tested Flowers, concluding his IQ was 75. By his own account, someone told investigators that they'd seen him on Front Street that morning, though Hemphill has said repeatedly that he wasn't there. Who was he? Check resumes and CV, arrest records, places of employment, social media profiles, photos and videos, public records, skilled experts, publications and memorials . Eight persons linked to this address. Their names are Michael Lee Boies , Crystal Davis , and six others. 1.58 3.33 /5. We have lots of information about Willie: religious views are listed as Christian . 4). Record that.. This case was filed in U.S. Courts Of Appeals, U.S. Court Of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. Does this theft provide a clue as to how the killers made their getaway? Reporters from In the Dark tried to contact Hemphill online to present him with these findings. Usually if somebody starts shooting, he said, others will run.. Her rough exterior portrayed a tough, independent woman. Willie James Hemphill Obituary. He said he told investigators he was shopping with a woman in Memphis. Username. What an Alabama crime spree might reveal about the Curtis Flowers investigation. Episode 10 of the In the Dark Podcast was largely dedicated to the strange case of Willie James Hemphill, a local bad boy with a violent streak who was continually getting cross-ways with the law. Hemphills name came up briefly in Flowers 2010 trial. In October 2015, some 20 years after the murders, Katie Ali, one of Flowers attorneys in his appeal, recognized him in the photo lineup law enforcement used to implicate Flowers: In those Alabama crimes, store employees were shot execution-style with a .380 handgun the same type weapon used in the Tardy Furniture Store killings that might have jammed, and a suspect was wearing Fila shoes the same type shoe found from a bloody shoe print at the scene. The funeral service will be 1pm Sunday at China Grove A.M.E. Zion Church. If you recall our last conversation, I wasnt in the city., Reporter: You said you were in Memphis with Twanda Woods. Prior to his death, Doyle came across as a passive man working hard to stay out of trouble. On 03/12/2020 Willie Hemphill filed a Prisoner - Other Prisoner lawsuit against Warden. But after several hours of interviews conducted over two days, Hemphill finally disclosed his alibi: He said he was at a mall in Memphis at the time of the murders, with a Winona woman named Twanda Woods. . Lab officials, however, say the gun never arrived and was never tested. View Tommy Hemphill results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. 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. Sure, he had worked at Tardys in the past. With the discrediting of Hallmon and other witnesses, Saums said, I think the district attorney would find it hard to prosecute Curtis Flowers again, much less convict him.. . Willie James Hemphill has done many terrible things. James Graham, was a blues pianist and her mother, Virgie Lee Graham, was skilled in many instruments, though she did not . He testified in multiple trials that the other images in the photo lineup were just "filler pictures," chosen "at random" based on some resemblance to Flowers. Both involved store employees who were shot execution-style, a .380 handgun that might have jammed, and a suspect wearing Fila shoes. 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. Find an Obituary. The whole time Ive been telling them, I dont remember the day, Fleming said. December 6, 1948 August 11, 2018. The truths going to come out.. . 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. Free this man. That night, according to Moore, Hemphill was home with an ounce of marijuana, some of which they smoked together. He died on July 14, 2000 at age 81. She said that investigators have never questioned her about Hemphill's story. Willie married Janeen Winegar on August 10, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The district's Republicans should nominate James Hemphill as their candidate for Congress in the May 3 primary. In the sixth, he was again convicted and sentenced to death, and his latest appeal was ongoing when the podcast started. 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. Prosecutors said repeatedly at trial that the only suspect seriously investigated was Flowers. Twenty-two years on death row. Passed away February 25, 2012. Flowers was convicted and sentenced to death in the first three trials, but each time, the verdict was overturned on appeal for prosecutorial misconduct in the first and second trials, and for racially discriminatory jury selection in the third. The murder weapon in the Tardy Furniture case was a .380, and an unfired round was found at the scene; investigators believe that might indicate that the gun had jammed. According to the ledger, about$287 was missing from the cash drawer the morning of the murders. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. Share via email. WrongManleans tentatively fingers Doyle Simpson as the prime suspect. In 1996, four people were killed execution-style inside Tardy Furniture, which faces one of the busiest streets in the small town of Winona. . Gamble never discharged his weapon. The officer who was with Small when they pulled over Armstrong for speeding told APM Reports that Armstrong had indeed given them a handgun, which was turned over to the district attorneys office. Editor's note: This endorsement editorial was updated on . For Flowers, the new information including Flemings changed story adds weight to his case for a full acquittal. Menu. Find Willie Hemphill's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Contact Jerry Mitchell at 601-961-7064 or [email protected]. APM lead investigative reporter Madeleine Baran found one page among the documents Evans did give the defense attorneys, a form someone named Willie James Hemphill, then 24, of Memphis had signed at the Winona Police Department five days after the murders waiving his rights to an attorney. A defense expert responded in a sworn statement that the bloody footprints left behind by the popular shoe could havebeen anywhere between sizes 8.5 and 11. On July 2, the podcast, which has been downloaded more than 24 million times in its second season, laid out a lengthy argument that a different man, Willie James Hemphill, committed the 1996 murders. By licks he meant places to rob.. In other words, Evans committed two egregiousBrady violations that will, in the days that lie ahead, force the courts to grant a new trial and, just as likely, insist that Doug Evans recuse himself from this case. On November 16, 2015, Marcus Presley signed an affidavit claiming that Lasamuel Gamble and Steven McKenzie (the driver of the getaway car) had been in Mississippi the day of the Winona murders and had returned with several hundred dollars in their pockets after claiming to have hit a lick (committed a crime). District Attorney Doug Evans insisted he'd given the defense access to all records of the investigation. For Ali and the other lawyers working on Flowers' appeal at the time, this was a significant revelation. The shooter, Marcus Presley (16) and his accomplice, Lasamuel Gamble (18) were arrested in Norfolk, Virginia on August 9, 1996 after two weeks on the run. Miller would not comment. Maybe. The podcast has never cared about the fundamental horrors of the justice system; it just wants to ensure that those horrors only happen to the correct people. Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Willie James Hemphill. 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. Following their Alabama crime spree, Presley and Gamble fled north to Boston, where Gamble had relatives. A woman who admitted having sex with a 13-year-old boy and becoming pregnant with his baby has avoided jail time. Share to Facebook. "False testimony is a corruption of the truth-finding process of a trial," Gershman said. Service: 11 am Saturday, March 3, 201. A witness whose statement put a man on death row for 22 years has performed a remarkable backflip, turning a case on its head. Born in 2 Jun 1941 and died in 27 May 2008 Gaffney, South Carolina Willie James Hemphill Only now, a new name has surfaced. WIILIE HEMPHILL OBITUARY. More importantly, Woods said she was certain that she didn't make the trip with Hemphill that day. But Flowers deserves to have a fair trial and prosecution, he said. When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case. I know he didnt do it, Archie Flowers said. She lived in Winston, Mississippi, United States in 1930 and Beat 2, Winston, Mississippi, United States in 1940. The best result we found for your search is William Thomas Hemphill age 80+ in Highlands, NC. Nothing in the investigative file for the case explains why officers let him go. Just weeks ago, however, reporters discovered that Hemphill had an upcoming court date in Indianapolis and met him there. (1909). Yes and no. Officers gave him a gunshot residue test, finding oneparticle of residue. By the end of the two episodes devoted to the Flowers case, they had all abandoned Curtis as a suspect. Even before finding the gun, Armstrong had doubts about whether Flowers played a role in the quadruple murder. 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. Evans has spoken to the Greenwood Commonwealth, most recently about APM Reports analysis of his record of striking potential black jurors vs. white juries 4 1/2 times more often. It wasnt until 2016 that defense lawyers took a closer look at Armstrongs statement that he found a .380 handgun. Three of the four were each killed with a single head shot. No one was going to all that trouble over the approximately $400 investigators say was in the till that morning. And then Hemphill stormed off, ending the interview. He was born on December 6, 1948 in Weir, Mississippi the son of Eddie Allen and Garner Lee Edwards Hemphill. Eight days later, Tardy and three others working for the store were killed execution-style. So, maybe Curtis didnt steal the gun after all. Obituaries Section. Can Marcus Presleys affidavit be trusted? 5 Visits. Hemphill said investigator took his shoes for a few minutes as well as his fingerprints. Courtroom testimonyshows that Presley was the shooter in the pawn shop murders in Birmingham even though, prior to being shown video of the crime, he insisted that Gamble had been the gunman. That discovery will very likely win Curtis a new trial, but it doesnt necessarily finger the new guy as the killer. Simplistic journalism ethics call for reporters to follow the facts wherever they might lead. 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. Its a pretty cold-hearted human being that can kill four people.. 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. If youve listened toIn the Darkor watchedWrong Manon the Starz channel, you either came away convinced that Curtis Flowers didnt kill four people in cold blood back in 1996 or you werent paying attention. Hemphill's Timeline Willie James Hemphill has an extensive criminal record starting in 1990, just when Hemphill was eighteen-years old. It was a .380-caliber automatic handgun, coated in dirt and rust. Whoever did this crime (the Tardy murders) was a good shot.. The answer was yes many, many times. Presley wasnt the only suspect defense attorneys didnt know investigators had seriously considered. Reporters also poked holes in Hemphill . OBITUARIES. He is aiming to get bail, which is rare in capital murder cases. Asked to clarify what he'd just said, Hemphill became agitated. … Ive had many trials where no black jurors were struck., But the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned Flowers conviction in his third trial, ruling Evans had intentionally struck African Americans from the jury. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008); The Social Network (2010) We encourage you to research and . Flowers parents have long believed in his innocence, visiting him in prison. Investigators said the Simpson brothers were eliminated quickly because they were both at work at the time of the murders. Willie Hemphill. Winona, Mississippi lies three hours west of Birmingham on Highway 82. Not the right Willie? "I think we pretty much ruled him out from the get-go," Matthews testified. Mississippi Smoldering: Tom Mangold reports on the Curtis Flowers case in 2009, Dwelling in a land of disbelief: My University Years . He allegedly stabbed a woman with a screwdriver, among other violent crimes. He freely admitted that he had been a suspect and even says that, although innocent, he would have made a more convincing suspect than Curtis. Right now, Willie Hemphill lives in Rock Hill, SC. EPISODE 16. That day in October 2015, Ali was looking at a photo lineup that law enforcement had used to implicate Flowers in the Tardy case. The day in photos. But if Curtis Flowers doesnt get relief in the face of these well-publicized facts there will be hell to pay. When Jeffrey Armstrong heard his dog barking, he went outside tosee the reason for the commotion. But he believed Gamble's denial. State investigator Matthews told the jury he didnt check Hemphills alibi, ruling him out by conversation alone. Me and her was leaving," he said, forfeiting his Memphis alibi altogether and placing himself a short walk from Tardy Furniture. Share Obituary. "Best I remember is somebody brought it to the attention of the investigators that they wanted us to talk to him, and he came in and we talked to him," Matthews said on the stand in the sixth trial. It remains unclear why Mississippi investigators ruled them out as suspects. "Yes, sir," Snow replied. Hemphill was held in jail for 11 days, according to county records, though it's not clear why he was held. Why was he questioned? The second season of the In the Dark podcast is about the case of Curtis Flowers, who was tried six times for the same crime. The killer or killers could have used the key to enter the side door, perhaps hiding before the store opened. 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. Eight days before these murders, a side door key was stolen. Whoever killed four innocent people in the Tardy Furniture store on that fateful day in 1996 was familiar with armed violence and kind of liked it. Evans didnt want jurors comparing his tortured theory with a simple and sensible alternative. Willie James Hemphill was born on May 27, 1919. Submit an Obituary. So, if Curtis Flowers isnt guilty, who is? The bodies of Derrick Stewart, 16, Robert Golden, 42, Carmen Rigby, 45, and Bertha Tardy, 59, were found spread throughout the store and in the back office. Asked if he'd committed the murders at Tardy Furniture, he simply said, "Hell, no.". 0 Add Rating Anonymously. "It just kind of jumped out," Ali said. Wrong Manpresented us with a small group of criminal justice professionals who started out believing that Curtis was probably the killer. It was either a paid hit on a single individual that went bad when other employees entered the room, or the awful deed was done for the hell of it. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. He will be held in a county jail while its decided if he should face trial for a stunning seventh time. Prosecutors have always said that Curtis Flowers was the only serious suspect in the Tardy Furniture investigation. Simpson's brother Emmett was an early suspect, too a fact Matthews had himself testified to in the second Flowers trial. Police received a call about the murders at 10:21 a.m. Search by Name. Hemphill supposedly had an alibi for the time of the murders, but when In The Dark dug into it, they were able to determine his alibi was barely credible if at all. Obituaries Section. The show has won rightful fame for its work helping to save Flowers life. Because Mr. Evans didnt tell them about the Alabama connection.
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