Water Valley Police Investigate Homicide
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Authorities responded to an abandoned home on Stephens Street in Water Valley Monday afternoon after a 911 caller reported hearing a gunshot.
WATER VALLEY – Local authorities are investigating the shooting death of a 39 year-old Water Valley woman after her body was found inside an abandoned home Monday afternoon. Officers with the Water Valley Police Department and Yalobusha County deputies responded to 972 Stephens Street around 5:30 Monday afternoon after a caller dialed 911 to report hearing gunshots.
Yalobusha County Coroner Ronnie Stark reported Justina Pritchard was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound and the case was being investigated as a homicide.
Water Valley Police Chief Jason Mangrum reported at presstime Tuesday that officers were searching for a person of interest in the case wanted for questioning in connection with the homicide. The chief added that the person of interest could be the last person to see the victim.
Initial information received by the dispatcher during the 911 call included a report of shots fired and a request for an ambulance at the Stephens Street house. Dispatchers worked to get the caller, who identified himself as George, back on the phone in an attempt to learn more details as officers responded. The caller provided additional details, possibly about the victim, according to radio traffic on the scanner.
Mangrum reported officers were on the scene within minutes.
“We knew the house is abandoned and did a welfare check,” Mangrum reported. “We located a deceased female inside the house.”
Mangrum immediately reached out to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation for investigators and the crime scene mobile unit to help process potential evidence. He also contacted the district attorney’s office and Assistant District Attorney Marvell Gordon responded to the scene.
The chief reported investigators worked for several hours inside the house processing the scene before the body was released to the coroner. While the investigative work was underway inside the abandoned home, other officers canvassed the neighborhood talking to people and searching for information.
“Officers gathered details about the crime that helped develop a person of interest in the investigation. We worked Monday night and Tuesday morning trying to locate this person of interest,” Mangrum added. (The search that was still underway at presstime Tuesday afternoon)
The investigation remains ongoing, but the chief provided information about a possible motive.
“We are looking at either a narcotics and or a domestic situation. One or the other, or both,” Mangrum told the Herald.
“Our hearts go out to family members and friends of the victim,” Mangrum said. “We are diligently working to apprehend the shooter.”
The homicide is the first in Yalobusha County in 2024. Stark said there is a 10-day delay before the state medical examiner’s office in Pearl can perform an autopsy.
“We are probably looking at late next week before the autopsy is performed,” Stark told the Herald.
