Richard Dale Crum, 52, has been arrested after killing his ex-wife and five others in a rural Mississippi town. Crum started his killing spree at about 11 am on Friday in Arkabutla, a town of about 300 people and 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Memphis, Tennessee. He first shot a man behind the wheel of a truck parked outside a convenience store and then chased his brother, who escaped into the woods, AP reports.
According to Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance, Crum thereafter drove to his ex-wife’s home and shot her dead. He also fatally shot her husband, but he survived. The man he killed in the truck was identified as 59-year-old Chris Eugene Boyce and the brother who escaped is Doug. A source said Boyce and Doug lived in Alaska, but they came to town to clean up a property they inherited from their late uncle.
Crum’s former wife that was slain was Debra Crum, 60. After deputies trailed the criminal and caught up with him outside his house, they discovered he had killed two other persons, one on the road and the other inside an SUV; the bodies were found behind Crum’s house. And then the police also found the slayer killed his stepfather and stepfather’s sister in the residence besides his own.
The other slain folks were Charles Manuel, 76; John Rorie, 59; George McCain, 73; and Lynda McCain, 78. Deputy Tate County Coroner Ernie Lentz identified the bodies of the slain people. “Everybody has crime, and from time to time we have violent crime, but certainly nothing of this magnitude,” said Sheriff Lance who lived his entire life in Arkabutla and has been in the police force for 25 years. “Without being able to say what triggered this, that’s the scary part.”
Deputies found several handguns and one shotgun in Crum’s car. He is presently being held without bond at the Tate County jail, where he is charged with capital murder. It is not clear if he has a lawyer to represent him yet. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said he has been briefed on the shootings and will ensure that justice is served.
“I will ensure that the full resources of the state are available to law enforcement as we continue to investigate the situation,” Reeve tweeted on Friday afternoon.
