And in searching for Hemphill, she came upon a cousin with the same name who recalled three carloads of deputies showing up at his mobile home in 1996 looking for the other Hemphill. His alibi is weak, according to In The Dark. Episode 10 of the In the DarkPodcast was largely dedicated to the strange case ofWillie James Hemphill, a local bad boy with a violent streak who was continually getting cross-ways with the law. Willie James Hemphill, 38. "Because once you get people on a roll to admitting to crimes, they just don't stop. Willie Hemphill Found 194 people in Mississippi, Illinois and 31 other states. Free this 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. 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. Appendix III: List of Soldiers by Name Updated February 22, 2005 War of 1812 Discharge Certificates Appendix I: List of Units and Subunits Appendix II: List of Company/Detachment Commanders Appendix III: List of Soldiers by Name Appendix IV: List of Soldiers by Unit Appendix III: List of Soldiers by Name [table striped="true" responsive="true"]NameYearRegimentCompanyAbbey, Edward17951st . A photo array that contains Marcus Presley (No. She said that investigators have never questioned her about Hemphill's story. with Reverend Shane Russell officiating, assisted by Max Bennett. "They wanted to put all these robberies onto Marcus and LaSamuel.". "I think we pretty much ruled him out from the get-go," Matthews testified. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. 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 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. In a sworn statement, one of those criminals, Marcus Pressley, told Flowers' lawyers thattwo of his accomplices in the Alabama crimes were in Mississippi at the time of the Tardy murders. He died on May 27, 2008 at age 66. That might not be so if the whole world wasnt watching, but it is. Actually,In the Dark hasnt weighed in on the guilt-innocence issue (thats not what they do), but their careful dissection of DA Doug Evans case against Flowers has left the case in a shambles. He's also targeted women in general and often women carrying purses. On July 19, the Clarion Ledger did just that, finding wires, broken concrete blocks, parts of childrens toys and a plastic dog bone. 2. Eight days later, Tardy and three others working for the store were killed execution-style. Name. Marcus Presley sometimes accompanied by LaSamuel Gamble had committed a string of robberies in 1996 in and around Birmingham, with the same modus operandi. He explained his suspicion that the gun might have something to do with the Tardy murders. Asked if she remembered where she was when the murders happened, she recalled the morning clearly. 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. Store employees were threatened with death and forced to lie on the floor. 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. 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. 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. Share Obituary. Doug Evans, the district attorney who prosecuted Flowers in all six trials, has declined to be interviewedby APM Reports and has not returned calls from the Clarion Ledger. Its almost impossible to not hate him and to believe he is guilty. A wealthy lawyer who killed his wife and son at close range has been sentenced in one of the most troubling cases the judge said he had seen. The news was quickly followed by a shocking revelation in American Public Media podcast In The Dark. 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. This score is (-15%) Above the National Average View Actual Score View Reputation Details . Share to Twitter. Doyle, he said, used to work for Tardy Furniture.. The two men had family in both Boston and Norfolk. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. 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 had developed a simplemodus operandi. 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. Eight days before these murders, a side door key was stolen. Hemphill said investigator took his shoes for a few minutes as well as his fingerprints. As far as him telling me he killed some people, hell, naw, he aint ever told me that. 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. What an Alabama crime spree might reveal about the Curtis Flowers investigation. Hemphill said investigators tape recorded the interrogation and took notes, none of which was in the file given to Flowers defense attorneys. It wasn't until Flowers' sixth trial that jurors heard anything about the Alabama suspects. 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. Between June 19th, 1996 and June 30thof that year, Presley was involved in five robberies at gunpoint. Later, he said, one of the officers, Vince Small, came by, and he handed the officer the gun. He never responded. I dont think they learned anything.. 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. "They were investigating that intently back then. LOW HIGH. When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case. APM Reports recently interviewed a man named Willie James Hemphill, who said he was a suspect early in the investigation. 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. William is related to Alicia Kristen Hemphill . At the time, investigators in Mississippi told the media they were looking into whether the crimes could be connected to the murders at Tardy Furniture. Flowers has remained imprisoned the entire time, for more than 20 years. Sympathy Ideas. The similarities between the crimes were striking. Sure, onceIn the Dark is over the heat will diminish slightly. Law enforcement clearly saw Hemphill as a prime suspect. Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Williae Hemphill. How do we create a person's profile? 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. Presley and Gamble did four of the June heists together and one crime was perpetrated by Presley alone. During nearly 30 years of crimes, he's shown a quick temper, and a penchant for daytime robberies and violence against women. We went to boot camp together., The officers denial dont make me mad, he said. But he never cut ties with Winona, where his grandmother remained and where he committed a slew of small-time thefts in the years before and after the Tardy Furniture murders, according to public records. Flowers, who had been fired from the store 13 days before the murders, reportedly owed a small amount of money to one of the owners. Are you a sl*t? Find an Obituary . Like LaSamuel Gamble, Hemphill wore Fila shoes and had a criminal record. It happens. There are 60+ professionals named "Willie Hemphill", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. He told APM Reports that he was arrested and questioned in the . Willie James Hemphill an early suspect in the Tardy Furniture murders was charged with disorderly conduct last week. Selected filmography. Username. Select this result to view William Thomas Hemphill's phone number, address, and more. While talking to them, he said he told them about his discovery. I knew Curtis had started to get involved in crack. 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. 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. The FBI checked it out. Menu. Both involved store employees who were shot execution-style, a .380 handgun that might have jammed, and a suspect wearing Fila shoes. A series of Willie James Hemphill mugshots ranging from 2000 through 2016. 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). The ugly facts of Hemphills past werent ugly enough for the podcast In The Dark emphasized its clear disdain of him. 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. 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. One of them wore Grant Hill Fila sneakers. Hemphill, Willie Mae Willie Mae Hemphill, Born March 8, 1926. 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). An early suspect in the murders, Willie James Hemphill, who has a long criminal history, lived less than a mile from where Armstrong found this gun in 2011. When Jeffrey Armstrong heard his dog barking, he went outside tosee the reason for the commotion. On July 14, his mother, Lola, died of surgery complications. We have lots of information about Willie: religious views are listed as Christian . The day in photos. The district attorneys office isnt commenting. A woman who admitted having sex with a 13-year-old boy and becoming pregnant with his baby has avoided jail time. Now the spotlight is on three other deaths that are linked to the case. Why was he questioned? Visitation will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m . James appears the first time in the 1870 Federal Census as a six year-old, living with two brothers and a sister on his parents farm in Lampasas County, Texas. Although authorities quicklysettled on Flowers as their main suspect, he wasnt arrested until seven months later. That night, according to Moore, Hemphill was home with an ounce of marijuana, some of which they smoked together. 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. (1870), A.M. (1872), and LL.D. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. At first he was reluctant to divulge who he was with that morning, but later said it was a woman named Twanda Woods. Finding the truly guilty person (or people) strengthens the case that Flowers is innocent. View Actual Score Check Background . Menu. "You're confusing me. They said they didnt have a case against me.. That same day, Horace Wayne Miller, a lieutenant with the Mississippi Highway patrol, asked Norfolk officials to keep him apprised of their investigation. The judge denied Flowers' request to attend his mother funeral here on July 21. Before he disappeared into a men's bathroom, he once again dodged the question of where he was on the day of the murders and insulted two female reporters with vulgarities. "It just kind of jumped out," Ali said. 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. When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case. listing of 6209011-20040428-Willie-James-Hemphill-Criminal-Civil_jp2.zip; file as jpg timestamp size; 6209011-20040428-Willie-James-Hemphill-Criminal-Civil_jp2/ And the gun that Armstrong says he discovered is additionally important . Saums pointed out that Simpson who has since died lied to police about how he had gotten the gun. The killer or killers could have used the key to enter the side door, perhaps hiding before the store opened. Search by Name. The answer was yes many, many times. "I don't understand how she said that.". Username. Why was he questioned? One, Rigby,was killed with two shots to the head. 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. 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. And Hemphill had a history of committing crimes in Winona and Memphis. Willie James Hemphill was born on May 27, 1919. Their pattern was to spend a week or so lying low before going on another rampage. He told us the truth … The statement that he gave in court I made sure was the truth before we used it.. Hemphill's Timeline Willie James Hemphill has an extensive criminal record starting in 1990, just when Hemphill was eighteen-years old. Lab officials, however, say the gun never arrived and was never tested. Reporters spent months combing through police and court records in Mississippi, Tennessee and Indiana to compile his extensive, and at times violent, criminal history. 0 Reputation Score Range. Mississippi Smoldering: Tom Mangold reports on the Curtis Flowers case in 2009, Dwelling in a land of disbelief: My University Years . Reporter: Were trying to puzzle through this. Quantico National Cemetery. 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. A bloody shoe print found in the store (left), and an investigator's sketch comparing the print to the Fila Grant Hill sneakers. Their reporters know better than anyone that Hemphill wouldnt get a fair trial. An August 15, 1996, article in The Winona Times reported that law enforcement officials in three states "released statements that they believe [Presley and Gamble] could be linked to Winona's case.". More importantly, Woods said she was certain that she didn't make the trip with Hemphill that day. Search by Name Search . 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. 1809 Gatewood Aven, Greensboro, NC 27405-6727 is the last known address for Willie. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. Check resumes and CV, arrest records, places of employment, social media profiles, photos and videos, public records, skilled experts, publications and memorials . Usually if somebody starts shooting, he said, others will run.. "I haven't heard anything about them," John Johnson, the investigator for the District Attorney's office, had said when questioned about the Alabama suspects at the sixth Flowers trial. Fleming had said six times since 1996 she saw Flowers running from the store on the morning of the murders. However, In the Dark's reporting has uncovered no clear evidence linking him to the Tardy murders. And Hemphill had actually lived for a time in Winona. The weapon in at least some of the Alabama cases was a .380 handgun that tended to jam. Willie James Hemphill Phone Numbers (662) ***-4391 In addition, one jailhouse snitch has recanted, he said. Detective Goldberg got Presley and Gamble to confess their roles in a pair of murders at a Birmingham pawn shop less than two weeks after the Tardy Furniture murders. Twenty-two years on death row. Her rough exterior portrayed a tough, independent woman. But maybe she didnt see anyone at all. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. According to testimony in Flowers' first trial, authorities found $255 hidden in the headboard of Flowers' girlfriend. 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. But, just like Curtis Flowers, Doyle Simpson fails the motive test. The Dallas Morning News. Following their Alabama crime spree, Presley and Gamble fled north to Boston, where Gamble had relatives. How did your name get involved in this?, Hemphill: I wasnt in the city. Willie James Hemphill was born on June 2, 1941. He spent 11 days in jail before authorities released him. And then Hemphill stormed off, ending the interview. But at Curtis Flowers' trials, the prosecution downplayed any investigation of other suspects. He said that side door leads to a ditch that would have provided a better escape route than simply walking back through town as authorities claimed Flowers had. Following his release from prison in 2013,Hallmon tried to run over a Carroll County sheriff's deputy while escaping a drug bust. 20181228 Willie James Hemphill Criminal Civil Records Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. They contained no mention of the Alabama suspects. It was his legal obligation, but its easy to see why he didnt. Born in 2 Jun 1941 and died in 27 May 2008 Gaffney, South Carolina Willie James Hemphill Inside the store, authorities discovered bloody footprints left behind by a Grant Hill Fila basketball shoe. James Mather at IMDb; This page was last . Nor was there any record of the evidence gathered from Hemphill. Add a Memory. Presley wasnt the only suspect defense attorneys didnt know investigators had seriously considered. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008); The Social Network (2010) The obituary was featured in The Bryan-College Station Eagle on August 16, 2009. The podcast, which uncovered evidence used by Flowers to get his conviction overturned, spoke with witness Clemmie Fleming. 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. In the Flowers case, Evans and investigators asserted that Flowers was the main suspect from the beginning, including up to his sixthand, so far, final trial. Visitation will be observed from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. Evans didnt want jurors comparing his tortured theory with a simple and sensible alternative. At first, Willie James Hemphill was calm. Willie Ray Hemphill, Jr., 49, of Bryan, passed away Thursday, August 13, 2009 at his residence. He said he knew nothing about the burglary. Armstrong questions whether Flowers could have carried out the killings of four people execution-style. Steven McKenzie, the driver of the getaway car in the pawn shop murders, was arrested on August 1 in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. Whoever killed the four victims in Winona was beset by demons. Maybe theyll cover that in their next season. When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case. Willie James Hemphill; Willie James Hemphill, Age 44. aka Willie Jr Hemphill. The accused has had his conviction overturned for the sixth time, the woman who put him at the scene of the murders has backflipped on her story and another man has been forced to deny it was him all along. He told APM Reports that he was arrested and questioned in the early days of the investigation. The July 16, 1996, killings of Tardy Furniture owner Bertha Tardy, 59, and three employees, Carmen Rigby, 45, Robert Golden, 42, and Derrick Stewart, 16, have haunted this town ever since. View More. By the end of the two episodes devoted to the Flowers case, they had all abandoned Curtis as a suspect. Fourteen lawyers. I was nowhere around., Reporter: The one thing that makes sense to me is that maybe if you had been on Front Street (where the murders took place) and you had seen something , Hemphill: Im done talking to you, youre trying to put me on Front Street., Reporter: Did you commit the murders that day?, Hemphill: Did you? 1.58 3.33 /5. When Flowers went back on trial, Armstrong heard no mention of the gun by either prosecutors or defense attorneys. "I was coming out of Piggly Wiggly and there was a woman, I will never forget her name. Sure, he had worked at Tardys in the past. Contact Jerry Mitchell at 601-961-7064 or jmitchell@gannett.com. His misdeeds, while abhorrent, are also likely inseparable from his decades-long history of poverty and addiction. He thought back to when Small took the gun. Prosecutors have always said that Curtis Flowers was the only serious suspect in the Tardy Furniture investigation. Jessie Mae Hemphill; Jimmie Gordon; Jimmy "Duck" Holmes; Jimmy Burns; Jimmy Dawkins; Jimmy Holmes; Jimmy Johnson; . It hurts my feelings.. And that's what I know," said David Goldberg, now retired from his job as a detective in the Norfolk Police Department. Saums said it makes sense the killers would have left through the side door, rather than go out the front door onto busy Front Street, the small towns main drag. While Presley drove the action, Gamble kept his gun trained on the scene in case anyone tried to flee. used to implicate Flowers in the Tardy case. View the profiles of professionals named "Willie Hemphill" on LinkedIn. It was all make believe. Thats just standard procedure. The Dallas Morning News Homepage. Asked if he'd committed the murders at Tardy Furniture, he simply said, "Hell, no.". 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. For Ali and the other lawyers working on Flowers' appeal at the time, this was a significant revelation. How do we create a person's profile? Hemphill was held in jail for 11 days, according to county records, though it's not clear why he was held. If you recall our last conversation, I wasnt in the city., Reporter: You said you were in Memphis with Twanda Woods. Told that Woods had a clear memory of being in Winona on the morning of July 16 and learning, outside the Piggly Wiggly, that the murders had just happened, Hemphill interrupted and altered his story. Yet despite a number of theft and drug charges, probation violations, at least four domestic violence convictions and a girlfriend who alleges he stabbed her 13 times Hemphill has managed to avoid a long stint in prison. And he was undeterred, at first, when he was told that Woods hadn't corroborated his story. So, if Curtis Flowers isnt guilty, who is? Name. INDIANAPOLIS At first, Willie James Hemphill was calm. Sarah Warnock and Jerry Mitchell/Clarion Ledger, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. In the past, Willie has also been known as Willie James Hemphill, Willie A Hemphill, Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill and Willi Hemphill. Yes and no. Relatives were alarmed to see a swarm of police cars descending on their homes in search of Willie James. 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. Jurors at Flowers trials had only heard of one suspect who could have worn Fila Grant Hills Flowers although investigators never found the shoes they said he wore. And why did Doyles brother, Emmett, run from law enforcement when they came to question him on the morning of the crime? State investigator Jack Matthews, one of those who had read Hemphill his rights, said hed only talked to Hemphill for a short time before realizing he didnt know anything. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Simpson's brother Emmett was an early suspect, too a fact Matthews had himself testified to in the second Flowers trial. 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. Following that arrest, Hemphill committed crimes nearly continuously for the next three decades. Case Details Parties Documents Dockets . The truths going to come out.. FUNERAL HOMES. The suspicion that the crimes could be connected was a matter of public record at the time. 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. His mother lived there, and he had gone to school there on and off.