Between June 19th, 1996 and June 30thof that year, Presley was involved in five robberies at gunpoint. There is little doubt that Hemphill has done terrible things. Burial will be at Barber Memorial Cemetery Psychologist John R. Goff tested Flowers, concluding his IQ was 75. Menu. 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? In 1996, four people were killed execution-style inside Tardy Furniture, which faces one of the busiest streets in the small town of Winona. While Presley drove the action, Gamble kept his gun trained on the scene in case anyone tried to flee. When Baran and her producer eventually tracked down the right Hemphill, he told them, Yeah, they actually had me as a suspect in that.. 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. Her rough exterior portrayed a tough, independent woman. 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. Search by Name. So, if Curtis didnt do this terrible deed, who did? 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. Marcus Presley, then 16, points a gun at pawn shop owner John Burleson shortly before killing him on July 25, 1996, in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. The funeral service will be 1pm Sunday at China Grove A.M.E. Zion Church. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. He wouldnt have had the (mental) capability, he said. We have lots of information about Willie: religious views are listed as Christian . A bloody shoe print found in the store (left), and an investigator's sketch comparing the print to the Fila Grant Hill sneakers. Saums believes whoever carried out the crime had inside information. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film Belfast. 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. But that doesnt mean that he killed those four people at Tardy Furniture. The suspicion that the crimes could be connected was a matter of public record at the time. The presence of live ammunition on the floor suggested that one of the killers was using a 380 pistol that jammed repeatedly. Gamble told me that they saw a few licks while they were in Mississippi. Injustice flourishes in the darkness, and the sun is now blazing in the heavens (at least for Curtis Flowers). Their reporters know better than anyone that Hemphill wouldnt get a fair trial. Service: 11 am Saturday, March 3, 201. 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. Relatives were alarmed to see a swarm of police cars descending on their homes in search of Willie James. Willie James Hemphill Phone Numbers (662) ***-4391 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. But it isnt necessary to prove a case against any of these people; the real scandal is that the existence of alternative suspects was systematically withheld from defense counsel. He said he told investigators he was shopping with a woman in Memphis. The Dallas Morning News. 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. Winona, Mississippi lies three hours west of Birmingham on Highway 82. In the past, Willie has also been known as Willie James Hemphill, Willie A Hemphill, Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill and Willi Hemphill. 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.". It happens. 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. Despite raising earthshaking doubts about the justice system, the show ultimately conforms to the systems logic that crime, denuded of context, must be solved and punished. Find an Obituary . So, maybe Curtis didnt steal the gun after all. 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. This score is (-15%) Above the National Average View Actual Score View Reputation Details . But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. In The Dark proved that Curtis Flowers was railroaded by an unjust system. Share Obituary. Gamble never discharged his weapon. 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. When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case. 1.58 3.33 /5. And why didnt DA Doug Evans even consider the Presley-Gamble connection? In 1996, Mississippi investigators told the local paper they were looking into a possible connection. "He would have just told me everything and anything at that point," Goldberg said. "I was coming out of Piggly Wiggly and there was a woman, I will never forget her name. 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. Presley and Gamble were extradited to Alabama, and again Gamble was questioned, almost in passing, about Mississippi. "After a short time, we realized that he didn't know anything about the case.". I aint saying nothing bad. There are 60+ professionals named "Willie Hemphill", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. Quantico National Cemetery. It might mean letting someone get away with an abominable crime. APM Reports recently interviewed a man named Willie James Hemphill, who said he was a suspect early in the investigation. Visitation will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m . The answer was yes many, many times. Judge Joseph Loper asked Evans if the state had any exculpatory evidence.. Hemphill seemed surprised when reminded that he'd told In the Dark in June 2018 that he was with an old friend named Twanda Woods. Search by Name. Name. 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. The Dallas Morning News Homepage. 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. She had at least 2 sons and 1 daughter with James Tobias Whitehead. His misdeeds, while abhorrent, are also likely inseparable from his decades-long history of poverty and addiction. 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. Willie James Hemphill Obituary. The show has won rightful fame for its work helping to save Flowers life. Robert Reid Hemphill's brother, James Calvin Hemphill, was born in Due West, South Carolina, on May 18, 1850. 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. 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. Following a masterful turn as Flowers defense lawyer, the podcast also wanted to play the part of the prosecution. Saums pointed out that Simpson who has since died lied to police about how he had gotten the gun. View More. The show revealed that the district attorneys office bullied and threatened people into lying on the witness stand. James Mather is a British sound editor. It hurts my feelings.. Hemphill said investigator took his shoes for a few minutes as well as his fingerprints. Investigators John Johnson and Jack Matthews denied on the stand knowing anything about them. Maybe Doyle did the deed and reported his gun stolen to throw everyone off the scent. The crime had a random and senseless quality to it. 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. 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. According to court records, he was "swinging a machete and causing a. Nothing in the investigative file for the case explains why officers let him go. Shooting a handgun with accuracy is more difficult than people think, said private investigator Charlie Saums of Ridgeland. Surveillance video from John's 280 Pawn Shop broadcast by ABC News. Find an Obituary. He explained his suspicion that the gun might have something to do with the Tardy murders. 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 . The case status is Pending - Other Pending. 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. 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. District Attorney Doug Evans argues that Flowers, enraged with losing his job, stole a gun out of a parked car at the Angelica garment factory, cooled his heels at home for an hour or so, then marched to the furniture store with murder in his eye, did the foul deed, and raced home. They wanted to ask him about his alibi for the day of the Tardy Furniture murders, an alibi that hadn't checked out. Search by Name. Flowers parents have long believed in his innocence, visiting him in prison. How do we create a person's profile? Marcus Presley and Lasamuel Gamble werent raised at all. In fact, he said, police never searched the crawl space beneath the house. 1. 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. "The best of my recollection, Mississippi was able to determine that our guys weren't the ones, or there was something that didn't make them right for the Mississippi case," said Mike DeHart, the Alabama sheriff's deputy who questioned Gamble. Burial will follow in Hemphill Star Cemetery, Boyce. By the end of the two episodes devoted to the Flowers case, they had all abandoned Curtis as a suspect. Share to Tumblr. He told the Commonwealth, I think these (APM Reports) folks are just coming up with anything they can to discredit the case. Who was he? John Johnson, the DAs investigator, told the jury, I think they talked to him for five minutes. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Why was he questioned? They didnt question him about other suspects or bring up Flowers name. Sure, he had worked at Tardys in the past. When Jeffrey Armstrong heard his dog barking, he went outside tosee the reason for the commotion. He has been behind bars ever since. And why did Doyles brother, Emmett, run from law enforcement when they came to question him on the morning of the crime? Asked if she remembered where she was when the murders happened, she recalled the morning clearly. The weapon in at least some of the Alabama cases was a .380 handgun that tended to jam. A woman who admitted having sex with a 13-year-old boy and becoming pregnant with his baby has avoided jail time. Yes and no. No one was going to all that trouble over the approximately $400 investigators say was in the till that morning. 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. Willie James Hemphill has lived in Evansville, IN 47714; Greenwood, MS 38930. It was all make believe. 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. Marcus Presley, the gunman in the Alabama crime spree, was staring up at Ali from among the six photos in the lineup. Inside the store, authorities discovered bloody footprints left behind by a Grant Hill Fila basketball shoe. "We did go to the mall, but it wasn't the day of the killing. Hemphill said he was wearing his Filas when in walked into the Sheriffs Department. The Dallas Morning News Homepage. Six trials and six successful appeals. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. 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. Reporter: Mr Hemphill. Usually if somebody starts shooting, he said, others will run.. used to implicate Flowers in the Tardy case. Share to Twitter. But perhaps the most intriguing new development is the emergence of a man who verbally attacked journalists on the podcast while denying he was in town on the day of the murders. Small is now claiming that I never gave (the gun) to him, Armstrong said. He took the gun and placed it into a nearby shed. It took the In the Dark team a full year to track Hemphill down in an Indianapolis courtroom (he's still getting into trouble). In Flowers' third trial, Snow testified that the height of the man she saw was between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-5. That was a lie, Hallmon told APM Reports in an interview on a contraband cellphone from his prison cell. That said, I dont see a compelling motive, and none of these people is any more capable of pulling off an outrage on this scale than poor Curtis Flowers. We know that Willie James Hemphill had been residing in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina 29341. Where were you?, Hemphill: I was in your p***y. 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. Share to Reddit. 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. 1 hr 4 min . Willie James Hemphill, 38. 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. Prosecutors have always said that Curtis Flowers was the only serious suspect in the Tardy Furniture investigation. INDIANAPOLIS At first, Willie James Hemphill was calm. The answer was yes many, many times. Though he was a suspect early in the investigation, according to law enforcement records, and questioned extensively, Hemphill was later released after 11 days in jail and ruled out as a suspect for reasons that remain unclear. During nearly 30 years of crimes, he's shown a quick temper, and a penchant for daytime robberies and violence against women. Are you a sl*t? 0 Reputation Score Range. 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 Addresses Click Here For Willie James Hemphill's Last Known Address 1241 Hatfield Dr, Evansville, IN 47714 1001 Mississippi Ave, Greenwood, MS 38930. I dont think they learned anything.. WIILIE HEMPHILL OBITUARY. The best result we found for your search is William Thomas Hemphill age 80+ in Highlands, NC. 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. And in the first Flowers trial, in 1997, he testified that "there were numerous suspects" in the early days of the investigation. He attended Erskine College, where he earned a A.B. Curtis Flowers, as any prison guard who has ever worked with him can tell you, has no demons. Asked to clarify what he'd just said, Hemphill became agitated. "I think we pretty much ruled him out from the get-go," Matthews testified. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. He told us the truth … The statement that he gave in court I made sure was the truth before we used it.. 4). She said she had seen somebody at 7:15 a.m. outside Simpsons car at the factory. His website is. Willie James Hemphill was born on June 2, 1941. Hemphill: A lot of people dont like to talk to the press and the police., Reporter: She was actually pretty talkative., Hemphill: Maybe she dont recall the day in question., Reporter: She actually has a really clear memory of that day., Hemphill: I dont know what she told you. For Ali and the other lawyers working on Flowers' appeal at the time, this was a significant revelation. Again, he denied ever being there. It took theIn the Dark team a full year to track Hemphill down in an Indianapolis courtroom (hes still getting into trouble). He allegedly stabbed a woman with a screwdriver, among other violent crimes. 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. 2) and Curtis Flowers (No. Afraid that he would be shot on sight if he didnt surrender, Hemphill turned himself in at the local police station (wearing Grant Hill Filas, the shoes investigators had linked to a bloody footprint at the crime scene) and was immediately handcuffed and booked into the local lock-up. Find Willie Hemphill's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. One of them, LaSamuel Gamble, had more money in his possession when he returned to Alabama, Presley said. 704-***-**** View Phone. Presley murdered four people and wounded three others in a spree of robberies and murders that year. Willie Hemphill Found 194 people in Mississippi, Illinois and 31 other states. UNLOCK PROFILE. Visitation will be observed from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. So, if I am forced to pick an alternative perpetrator in this awful case I would lean toward the Birmingham Boys, Presley in particular. US States (36975K) Current Events (51K) Celebrity (272) Exonerated (117) Favorites (421) FBI Most Wanted (848) Gangsters (49) Historical (131) Interpol (1.7K) . The murders rocked the small town. Hallmon is now serving three life sentences in Parchmanwithout the possibility of parole. 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. Simpson's brother Emmett was an early suspect, too a fact Matthews had himself testified to in the second Flowers trial. Hemphill had previously told police and the podcast that he was not in Winona on the morning of the murders. He died on May 27, 2008 at age 66. Green is a reporter in Toronto. He allegedly stabbed a woman with a screwdriver, among other violent crimes. Resides in Greenwood, MS. The killer or killers could have used the key to enter the side door, perhaps hiding before the store opened. Although authorities quicklysettled on Flowers as their main suspect, he wasnt arrested until seven months later. July 2, 2019 | by Parker Yesko and Dave Mann. But if Curtis Flowers doesnt get relief in the face of these well-publicized facts there will be hell to pay. The crime itself was extraordinary, but the case drew In The Darks attention because a local prosecutor had tried Flowers six times for the murders. 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. Hemphill said investigators tape recorded the interrogation and took notes, none of which was in the file given to Flowers defense attorneys. Miller also asked the investigator to interrogate Presley and Gamble about the Tardy Furniture murders. Early voting has begun. 0 Add Rating Anonymously. He said he wondered what happened with the gun. I knew his sisters, I knew his brother, he said. Eight days before these murders, a side door key was stolen. That day in October 2015, Ali was looking at a photo lineup that law enforcement had used to implicate Flowers in the Tardy case. As the investigators interviewed for theWrong Man episodes on Flowers point out, the family members of the victims should have been considered suspects until evidence suggested otherwise. 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. He also tried to shoot his own 12-year-old son who was hiding in a closet, though the boy survived. View Tommy Hemphill results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Following his release from prison in 2013,Hallmon tried to run over a Carroll County sheriff's deputy while escaping a drug bust. The ordeal of Curtis Flowers screams for correction. 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. But In The Dark was apparently unsatisfied with exonerating the innocent: It needed the narrative closure of guilt, and found its key to that in Hemphill. It was his legal obligation, but its easy to see why he didnt. 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. One, Rigby,was killed with two shots to the head. The justices wrote that it was as strong a prima facie case of racial discrimination as we have ever seen in the context of a Batson challenge. 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. Both his father, Archie, and his sonbelieve he will be free one day. If Gamble and McKenzie were in Mississippi the day of the Winona murders its very possible that Presley was with them. Photos. They did, however, find bullets, bullet fragments and shell casings at the crime scene. This narrative turn places In The Dark firmly, disappointingly, and alarmingly in the mainstream of the True Crime genre. Submit an Obituary. Reporters also poked holes in Hemphill . His alibi is weak, according to In The Dark. Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Willie James Hemphill. Can Marcus Presleys affidavit be trusted? Born in 2 Jun 1941 and died in 27 May 2008 Gaffney, South Carolina Willie James Hemphill The day in photos. Find Willie Hemphill's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. SEND FLOWERS. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. Case Details Parties Documents Dockets . Suppressing the evidence theyve already gathered might mean denying justice to the victims. She said that investigators have never questioned her about Hemphill's story. American Public Media reports that Hemphills ex-girlfriend Monkra Moore said she and Hemphill lived together in 1996 and claimed that he was home in Winona at around 7am on the morning of the murders. Each victim of the July 16, 1996 murders was murdered execution styleone or two bullets to the back of the head. Presley shot and killed store employees execution-style on his way out the door. Me and her was leaving," he said, forfeiting his Memphis alibi altogether and placing himself a short walk from Tardy Furniture. "They were investigating that intently back then. We encourage you to research and . Its almost impossible to not hate him and to believe he is guilty. On July 19, the Clarion Ledger did just that, finding wires, broken concrete blocks, parts of childrens toys and a plastic dog bone. The district attorneys office isnt commenting. A surveillance camera revealed that the killer was wielding a 380 pistol that jammed repeatedly. But attempting to deliver another black man into that same system goes against its good work. 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. Sarah Warnock and Jerry Mitchell/Clarion Ledger, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Reporters also poked holes in Hemphill . Willie Headen; Willie James Lyons; Willie Love; Willie Mabon; Willie Smith; Willie Trice; Willie Williams; Last month, the Supreme Court overturned Flowers latest conviction, citing In The Darks reporting. They contained no mention of the Alabama suspects. What follows are selected incidents from his past. Willie James Hemphill's alibi doesn't check out TIMELINE: Hemphill's long criminal record. He said he called Tardy the next day, asking if he still had a job, and she said he didnt. You may also light a candle in honor of Willie James . Each victim had been murdered execution styleone or two bullets to the back of the head. However, In the Dark's reporting has uncovered no clear evidence linking him to the Tardy murders. Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Williae Hemphill. He didnt mark it or put it in an evidence bag, he told the Clarion Ledger. Mississippi Smoldering: Tom Mangold reports on the Curtis Flowers case in 2009, Dwelling in a land of disbelief: My University Years . <a . She lived in Winston, Mississippi, United States in 1930 and Beat 2, Winston, Mississippi, United States in 1940. For Flowers, the new information including Flemings changed story adds weight to his case for a full acquittal. But his demeanor when approached by In the Dark investigative reporters was consistent with innocence. 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 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. More: Curtis Flowers' prosecution witness says testimony was all 'make believe', More: Recanted testimony, subjective science helps put Curtis Flowers on death row, Supreme Court rules jury selection in Ga. trial unconstitutional. Explosive end to case thats rocked America. Editor's note: This endorsement editorial was updated on . If Flowers did what he is accused of doing, he deserves his punishment, Armstrong said. Why was he questioned? Montgomery County Sheriff Bill Thornburg searched Moores home and found a size 10.5 Fila Grant Hill shoebox in a dresser at her house. 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. And that's what I know," said David Goldberg, now retired from his job as a detective in the Norfolk Police Department.