Authorities Arrest ‘Dead Person’
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
Water Valley police officer Jakirio Horton transports Charlotte Thrash to the Yalobusha County Detention Center.
WATER VALLEY – A woman was arrested on an outstanding bench warrant Monday afternoon following a bizarre investigation into allegations that she faked her death. Charlotte Thrash, 53, was arrested early Monday afternoon at the Valley Motel on South Main Street by the Water Valley Police Department and the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department.
“It appears from the evidence gathered that there was a scheme to convince the public that she had died on February 5,” Sheriff Jerimaine Gooch reported. “We believe that she may have orchestrated this scheme to avoid prosecution from earlier arrests.”
The information shared on Thrash’s Facebook page, “Blaise Thrash,” included a screenshot of a post by a man who wrote that he did not mean for her to die.
“But I did leave her in the woods so I killed her. I killed my fiance,” the man posted.
Another screenshot of a post from the same man was more ominous.
“Ok… I did it… I did not mean to kill Blaze. It was an accident. All I ask her to do was prove her love. And now because she accidentally died I am a monster. All she had to do was let me have access to her bank account that’s all it’s not that big of deal.”
The screenshots were posted on Thrash’s Facebook page on Feb. 5, presumably by a family member who had log-in information to access her account. Other information posted on her Facebook account included details that Thrash had been left with no shelter or blanket in the woods, she was discovered unresponsive and flown to a Jackson hospital where she died.
Earlier posts on the same Facebook account appeared to have come from Thrash stating that she was freezing to death.
The posts attracted scrutiny and Chief Deputy Thomas West reported he got a call Monday morning from another agency asking if the department was investigating a death.
“We did a search on the internet and found her obituary posted on a memorial website reporting that she died Feb. 5. A memorial service was scheduled to spread her ashes in Grenada Lake,” West added.
Screenshots were posted on Charlotte Thrash’s Facebook page from a man who said her death was an accident.
Posted on forevermissed.com, the post included Thrash’s obituary and details about a planned service at Gums Crossing recreational area at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
The sheriff’s department immediately launched an investigation, checking with area funeral homes and crematoriums and found no record of Thrash’s death. What they did find was Thrash, alive and well, after reaching out to the Water Valley Police Department to help locate her.
“They had more recent interaction with her, Chief (Jason) Mangrum was able to find out she was staying in the local hotel,” Gooch said. “A local church had been paying for her room.”
Mangrum provided additional details about locating Thrash, as the story takes an almost comical twist. Within hours of learning about the death, the chief received a call from a church official asking for advice after Thrash requested a ride to Grenada Monday afternoon.
“You mean she is not dead?” the chief explained about his response.
“I just got off the phone with her, she is not dead,” the caller answered.
Gooch and Mangrum provided details about Thrash’s criminal history. She missed an appearance last week for a felony drug charge following an earlier arrest by city officers, prompting the warrant to be issued for her. Thrash was also was arrested by deputies last July for grand larceny for allegedly stealing supplies from a water association in the county.
Most recently, Mangrum said Thrash is wanted for questioning about the theft of a camper in the city. Thrash had been evicted from the camper located near the intersection of Wise Street, and Hwy. 7 and several days later the owner reported the camper was missing. Mangrum said the camper was recovered on County Road 115.
“This case remains under investigation and she is a person of interest as she was the last known occupant of the camper,” Mangrum added.
Thrash was booked in the Yalobusha County Detention Center Monday afternoon and remains in custody.
West said that Thrash attempted to destroy her phone in the hotel parking lot in an apparent attempt to keep law enforcement from obtaining information from it.
“This is the first time we have ever arrested a dead person. We were very relieved this was a scheme and not a homicide,” Gooch said. “We still have a lot of details to sort out and we are working with the district attorney’s office to determine if charges are warranted.”
Details also included a request from Thrash shortly after her arrest to take her to an appointment in Oxford with her oncologist after she explained she was being treated for cancer.
The sheriff’s department made multiple calls were made to clinics in Oxford to determine if the appointment was scheduled, but there was no record of the appointment.
“Sadly, she is a very talented con artist,” Mangrum said.
Please I’d like to read an article