Enid Man Faces Capital Murder
An Enid man could face the death penalty after being charged with capital murder in a weekend shooting.
Keith Blackburn, 29, has been charged in Yalobusha County with capital murder, kidnapping and rape following a shooting Saturday evening that occurred on the southbound on-ramp of I-55 at Tillatoba.
Margaret Henderson, a 64 year-old long-time BorgWarner employee, was shot three times, allegedly by Blackburn, according to Yalobusha County Sheriff Lance Humphreys. Henderson, who lived in Oakland, was the mother of Blackburn’s estranged girlfriend. Also in the vehicle at the time of the shooting were both a nine-month old baby and two year-old child.
Authorities were able to piece together a string of violence following the shooting, in which Blackburn allegedly kidnapped his girlfriend and left the scene – initially leaving the two children in the car.
“We were able to determine that Blackburn allegedly took the female riding in Panola and Yalobusha counties following the shooting,” Humphreys said. “She was able to talk her captor into returning to the vehicle to retrieve the children.”
The trail began, for local authorities when Blackburn released his estranged girlfriend in Grenada, after allegedly taking her to EconoLodge in Grenada and raping her.
“She notified the Grenada Police Department who called our dispatcher at 2:59 a.m. Sunday morning,” Humphreys said.
A deputy and the sheriff were on the scene at 3:16 a.m.,finding Henderson in the vehicle.
Deputy Coroner Ronny Stark arrived on the scene at 3:30 and pronounced Henderson dead at the scene at 4:45 a.m.
Stark said officials with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) mobile crime scene unit processed the scene before he examined Henderson. An autopsy was performed Monday in Jackson, according to Stark.
State Medical Examiner, Dr. Steven Hayes ruled the cause of death a homicide, according to Stark.
While Yalobusha authorities were processing the crime scene at the Tillatoba exit, Grenada police officers – acting on information from the girlfriend – nabbed Blackburn at Double Quik on Highway 51 in Grenada at 4 a.m, according to Humphreys. He was arrested without incident.
MBI officials also processed the crime scene at Econo Lodge in Grenada Sunday morning, working until 11 a.m. Humphreys said Blackburn will be charged in Yalobusha County for the rape – which occurred in Grenada – because the crime originated in Yalobusha.
“We stayed in close contact with District Attorney John Champion because of potential questions about the jurisdiction, which involved multiple counties,” Humphreys said.
Blackburn was given an initial appearance before Justice Court Judge Gary Tippit Monday afternoon. No bond was set by Tippit, because of the capital offense. The case will be presented to a First Judicial District grand jury Wednesday.
Blackburn’s address is listed as King Road in Enid.
