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. Usually if somebody starts shooting, he said, others will run.. While he was working July 3, he loaded golf cart batteries into the back of a truck. Are you a sl*t? His father had, for just a few months, been the first sheriff in the county, but returned to farming his land. During nearly 30 years of crimes, he's shown a quick temper, and a penchant for daytime robberies and violence against women. Presley murdered four people and wounded three others in a spree of robberies and murders that year. After nearly 23 years locked up, Curtis Flowers has a chance to get out on bail if his lawyers can convince the judge to rule in his favor. Share to Tumblr. 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. They didnt question him about other suspects or bring up Flowers name. Prosecutors claimed Flowers wore a size 10.5 shoe, and a state expert testified that the 10.5 size was consistent with the bloody footprints. John Johnson, the DAs investigator, told the jury, I think they talked to him for five minutes. 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 . If the state Supreme Court were to order a seventh trial for Flowers, the district attorney would face a difficult task, Saums said. Find Willie Hemphill's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. Right now, Willie Hemphill lives in Rock Hill, SC. Search by Name. Evans didnt want jurors comparing his tortured theory with a simple and sensible alternative. So, maybe Curtis didnt steal the gun after all. Curtis Flowers is on Mississippis death row, convicted of the murders after six trials, but his lawyers, APM Reports In the Dark podcast, the Starz TV program The Wrong Man and others have raised questions about his guilt. "I was out of the whole jurisdiction in another state.". His misdeeds, while abhorrent, are also likely inseparable from his decades-long history of poverty and addiction. In fact, it appears Miller had specifically asked for the photo of Presley from an investigator in Virginia, where Presley and his accomplice, LaSamuel Gamble, were apprehended. Illuminating Journalism from American Public Media. He attended Erskine College, where he earned a A.B. And maybe his girlfriend, Katherine Snow, told the authorities that she saw Curtis leaning up against Doyle Simpsons car because thats what investigators wanted to hear. Could those responsible for Tardy Furniture murders have escaped a different way? One of them, LaSamuel Gamble, had more money in his possession when he returned to Alabama, Presley said. APM Reports, the investigative and documentary reporting team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, spent a year digging into the Flowers case for its In the Dark podcast. The podcasts reporters spent months methodically proving that prosecutors systematically denied black people a seat in the jury box, and how a man who is likely innocent has been repeatedly sentenced to death. Eight days later, Tardy and three others working for the store were killed execution-style. Service: 11 am Saturday, March 3, 201. Shooting a handgun with accuracy is more difficult than people think, said private investigator Charlie Saums of Ridgeland. Quantico National Cemetery. He spent 11 days in jail before authorities released him. Following a masterful turn as Flowers defense lawyer, the podcast also wanted to play the part of the prosecution. So, if Curtis didnt do this terrible deed, who did? He was born on December 6, 1948 in Weir, Mississippi the son of Eddie Allen and Garner Lee Edwards Hemphill. His alibi is weak, according to In The Dark. But he believed Gamble's denial. It took theIn the Dark team a full year to track Hemphill down in an Indianapolis courtroom (hes still getting into trouble). It remains unclear why Mississippi investigators ruled them out as suspects. But at Curtis Flowers' trials, the prosecution downplayed any investigation of other suspects. 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. Me and Twanda was out of town," he said. A .380-caliber is hard to control. Menu. Willie James Hemphill was born on May 27, 1919. And in the first Flowers trial, in 1997, he testified that "there were numerous suspects" in the early days of the investigation. The criminals used a .380-caliber handgun that sometimes jammed. Photos. I just didnt know how to say it. 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. 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. Does this theft provide a clue as to how the killers made their getaway? For starters, a key prosecution witness who testified she saw Flowers sprinting from the front of the store at the time of the murders, has been discredited, he said. View Willie Hemphill results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Willie James McDaniel Funeral services for Willie James McDaniel will be held at 12:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 26, 2022, at Hemphill Star Church in Boyce, La. Willie James Hemphill Birth 27 May 1919 Death 14 Jul 2000 (aged 81) Burial. 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. Willie James Hemphill was born on June 2, 1941. His website is. Simplistic journalism ethics call for reporters to follow the facts wherever they might lead. Nine days later, on July 25, 1996, the bodies of two innocent people were discovered in a pawn shop in Birmingham, Alabama. A Hearing. Willie James Hemphill; Willie James Hemphill, Age 44. aka Willie Jr Hemphill. And the case file doesn't contain the report Goldberg says he would have sent to Mississippi authorities, or any indication of what might have been done to substantiate it. 20181228 Willie James Hemphill Criminal Civil Records Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. He told the Commonwealth, I think these (APM Reports) folks are just coming up with anything they can to discredit the case. Presley and Gamble did four of the June heists together and one crime was perpetrated by Presley alone. James Mather is a British sound editor. 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. An APM Reports investigation of Hallmon's criminal history shows that at least seven felony charges against him fell away between 2001 and 2016. 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. (Page 3) Matthews never responded. Fleming had said six times since 1996 she saw Flowers running from the store on the morning of the murders. Prior to his death, Doyle came across as a passive man working hard to stay out of trouble. Reporter: Were trying to puzzle through this. And why did Doyles brother, Emmett, run from law enforcement when they came to question him on the morning of the crime? Share to Facebook. APM Reports recently interviewed a man named Willie James Hemphill, who said he was a suspect early in the investigation. If Woods had been at the mall with Hemphill at the time of the murders roughly 10 a.m. she couldn't have been back in Winona any earlier than noon. The investigative file contained no indication of what Hemphill said or why he was eliminated as a suspect. Hemphill said investigator took his shoes for a few minutes as well as his fingerprints. Check resumes and CV, arrest records, places of employment, social media profiles, photos and videos, public records, skilled experts, publications and memorials . "It just kind of jumped out," Ali said. Hallmon has since admitted he lied. Willie Hemphill. Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Williae Hemphill. Maybe Doyle did the deed and reported his gun stolen to throw everyone off the scent. So where was Hemphill during the day? He told them that a day or two after the murders he was driving back to Winona from Memphis when his stepfather called him and told him carloads of law enforcement officers had descending on his parents house looking for him. 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. And that omission, a law professor and former prosecutor told the team, could mean a seventh new trial for Flowers, condemined to death for the murders of four people at Tardy Furniture Store. Find an Obituary. Before he left on July 3, he said she gave him $30. Its a pretty cold-hearted human being that can kill four people.. When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case. And the investigative file not shared with the defense showed investigators had considered Marcus Presley, the gunman in the murders and a string of similar crimes that same summer in neighboring Alabama. And there he was. Again, he denied ever being there. Its almost impossible to not hate him and to believe he is guilty. Six trials and six successful appeals. 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). Username. James Mather at IMDb; This page was last . While that case was delayed for more than two years, Hallmon murdered three people, including his ex-girlfriend, Marquita Hill, and her mother. Obituaries Section. In that 1963 ruling, the court said: "The suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment.". Past Addresses: Shelby NC, Shelby NC +7 more. 1809 Gatewood Aven, Greensboro, NC 27405-6727 is the last known address for Willie. Ive been confused of the day from the beginning. 2. Between June 19th, 1996 and June 30thof that year, Presley was involved in five robberies at gunpoint. Law enforcement clearly saw Hemphill as a prime suspect. The similarities between the crimes were striking. The district's Republicans should nominate James Hemphill as their candidate for Congress in the May 3 primary. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Willie James Hemphill (1952 - 2006) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. Yes and no. We developed information that Doyle was missing from work that morning for about 30 or 40 minutes, which was about the time of the murders, he said. The first of these events took place last month when the US Supreme Court tossed out Flowers conviction. But both denied having committed the Tardy murders and said they'd never even been to Mississippi. Other facts may help explain why Hemphill initially was a suspect: The shoes he told In the Dark that he was wearing when he was questioned by investigators on July 21, 1996 Fila Grant Hill high-tops are the same type of sneaker that had left bloody footprints at the scene of the murders five days earlier. EPISODE 16. In the Dark,episode 10, makes it clear that the prosecution committed what is called a Brady violation by failing to inform defense counsel that Hemphill had been a suspect early in the investigation. One, Rigby,was killed with two shots to the head. At a hearing, the attorney generals office told the judge that prosecutors knew of no such gun. In the course of these crimes, one employee was shot in the leg and another in the back (both survived) and Presley was the shooter in both cases. The Dallas Morning News. 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. Lab officials, however, say the gun never arrived and was never tested. The police there picked up the investigation and also apparently probed the Tardy Furniture connection. And he's shown a quick and violent temper, particularly with women who don't comply with his demands. She said she had seen somebody at 7:15 a.m. outside Simpsons car at the factory. After examining the autopsy reportsand crime scene photographs, Baden said the evidence suggests one person maintained control while another person carried out the execution-style killings. That brings us to a theory that has been explored extensively by some of the folks currently representing Mr. Share to Pinterest. You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family. Judge Joseph Loper asked Evans if the state had any exculpatory evidence.. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. But that doesnt mean that he killed those four people at Tardy Furniture. Mississippi Smoldering: Tom Mangold reports on the Curtis Flowers case in 2009, Dwelling in a land of disbelief: My University Years . Willie James Hemphill was confronted in an Indianapolis courthouse last week, 23 years after police deemed him an initial suspect but later pursued leads against Flowers. Injustice flourishes in the darkness, and the sun is now blazing in the heavens (at least for Curtis Flowers). Miller, the Mississippi investigator who made the lineup and asked for the two to be interrogated, declined to answer questions from APM Reports. In The Darks reporting on the case documented the inequities and outright barbarism of Mississippis criminal justice system. No one was going to all that trouble over the approximately $400 investigators say was in the till that morning. 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. 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. 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. Who was he? "If he's guilty, he's guilty.". Statistics for all 30 William Hemphill results: 68 yrs. 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. So, if Curtis Flowers isnt guilty, who is? Miller also asked the investigator to interrogate Presley and Gamble about the Tardy Furniture murders. They wanted to ask him about his alibi for the day of the Tardy Furniture murders, an alibi that hadn't checked out. Presley and Gamble were extradited to Alabama, and again Gamble was questioned, almost in passing, about Mississippi. 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 "I don't know nothing about it.". . Authorities put together alineup later that day of black-and-white photos, and she identified Flowers from the lineup as the man she briefly saw that morning when she came outside to move her car. Belfast (2021; co-nominated with Denise Yarde, Simon Chase and Niv Adiri) References External links. Maybe he and Doyle were co-perpetrators. 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. Willie Hemphill is 80 years old and was born on 04/13/1942. Reporters also poked holes in Hemphill . Their names are Michael Lee Boies , Crystal Davis , and six others. Reporters spent months combing through police and court records in Mississippi, Tennessee and Indiana to compile his extensive, and at times violent, criminal history. Hemphill said investigators tape recorded the interrogation and took notes, none of which was in the file given to Flowers defense attorneys. Hemphills name came up briefly in Flowers 2010 trial. Gamble never discharged his weapon. Share Obituary. Police arrived at the factory and interviewed employee Katherine Snow. Back in 1996, there had even been speculation in the media that the crimes could be connected, and investigators had told the local paper they were looking into it. July 2, 2019 | by Parker Yesko and Dave Mann. You said that was an airtight alibi we talked to Twanda and she said she wasnt with you that day., Hemphill: They released me based on that. 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. Phone Number: (704) 751-NZMM +2 phones. 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.