Investigators following every lead as investigation into New Year’s Day triple homicide in State Line continues

An image taken from security footage at Clark’s convenience store in State Line early Wednesday morning shows the individual police are looking for in connection to the robbery / triple homicide.

By RUSSELL TURNER

Herald Editor

Investigators are continuing to work around the clock to identify and bring to justice the person that took the lives of three local residents roughly six hours into the new year – as well as anyone who may be helping the killer avoid police.

That was the latest word from Greene County Sheriff Ryan Walley early Friday morning.

“These were innocent people, just working and going about their everyday lives,” Sheriff Walley said of the three victims. “We have a lot of officers and investigators tracking down every lead and every tip in our search for answers in this tragedy.”

“We are working closely with agents from the FBI and MBI and are getting a lot of assistance from other state agencies and law enforcement from surrounding communities and we aren’t going to stop until we get to the bottom this.”

The lone gunman, believed to be a black male estimated to be around 200 lbs. and just under 6 feet tall, walked into the Clark’s convenience store just off the town square in State Line around 6 a.m. Wednesday morning with his face covered and wearing multiple layers of clothes to disguise himself. When he left, the bodies of store clerk Rhonda Denson and customer Jason Thornton lie deceased inside the store, while the body of the third victim, Denson’s boyfriend Lester Campbell, was just outside.

Investigators say the gunman fired over a dozen shots, cleaned out the store’s cash register and took Thornton’s wallet. The killer also grabbed several packs of cigarettes from the store shelf before stealing a black Toyota Camry and driving away. The vehicle was found abandoned on the side of K-Town Road within sight of its intersection with Miss. 42.

K-9 units dispatched to the area where the vehicle was found were unable to pick up a scent trail leading investigators to believe the killer may have had an accomplice.

“It’s common sense,” Greene County Chief Deputy Brad Warrick said. “It looks like he had to have somebody drop him off and pick him up.”

Warrick says investigators have fielded hundreds of calls and followed up on a similar number of tips. They have detained and interviewed multiple people of interest, but as of Friday morning, there had been no charges filed in connection to the case and no suspect identified as the killer.

“I know residents are frustrated, so are we, but we aren’t going to stop until we find the person or people responsible for this,” Sheriff Walley added.

Walley and Warrick say they appreciate all of the information they have received from the public and are asking that people continue to call them with any information they think may be helpful. However, they would ask that residents refrain from spreading rumors on social media.

“If anyone has any information that they think is remotely pertinent, we want to hear from them,” Walley said. “We will look into everything.”

“Call us or call CrimeStoppers, but there is a lot of information being shared on social media that is misleading, hasn’t been properly checked out and really isn’t helpful. In fact, a lot of it gets in the way of the investigation.”

Anyone with any information that could help with the investigation is asked to call the Greene County Sheriff’s Department at (601)394-2342.

Anonymous tips can also be made by calling Mississippi Coast CrimeStoppers at (877)787-5898 or by logging on to www.mscoastcrimestoppers.com. Tips that help lead to arrests in the case could lead to a large cash reward.