Ferriday Police are investigating a suspected murder-suicide that happened Wednesday afternoon. The late Sammy Davis Jr. no relation to the famous entertainer was elected Ferridays first black mayor in 1984. Beloved Mississippi school bus driver killed during crash with 18-wheeler, Eleven players with Mississippi ties selected in 2023 NFL Draft, Truck possibly connected to Hinds County jail escape found in Newton County, Paraplegic fisherman speaks to Beulah Baptist Church, Belhaven football puts a smile on the face of little girl, City of Byram awarded thousands of state dollars for infrastructure projects, Request a First Alert Weather School Visit, Advertising Non-Discrimination Certification. Delaughter lied about his location during the arson, claiming that he was out of the jurisdiction on a non-emergency call. hide caption. King thanked Concordia Parish Sheriffs Office and its deputies who worked jointly with Ferriday Police in this investigation, he said. Whatley said Deacons held meetings at Mercy Seat Baptist Church, where shoe shop owner Frank Morris had served as an usher, as well as Mount Olive Baptist Church and St. Charles Catholic Church. Lets do it intellectually not forcefully, Whatley said. These men had long been outraged by one horrid memory - the 1964 arson murder of Ferriday shoe shop owner Frank Morris. Battered and ostracized while he attended Ferriday High, Whatley would go on to serve in Vietnam. Ferriday Police are investigating a suspected murder-suicide that happened Wednesday afternoon. "Cold Case: Morris' Granddaughter Says FBI $10,000 Reward Gives Her New Hope". No charges have been brought despite three FBI investigations. ranks 6th in nation for best home security, SPD reports low home burglary count, Louisiana Cancer Research center expanding its research opportunities, KNOE Monday Evening Forecast with Chief Meteorologist Marcus Walter. In February1968, the second investigation was closed when the FBI determined that there was insufficient evidence to charge any of the suspects. [2] The informant, fearing for his life, did not share this information with the FBI until two years after the arson. He was killed when the shop burned down in 1964. "We dont know if we will ever have a motive exactly why this happened.". CPSO says upon arrival, they found two bodies with fatal gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Carl Ray Thompson, then 26, spotted his cousin's two-toned. We will continue to update this article as more information becomes available. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Natchez pastry chef Molly Manning Robertson in bake off for last spot in Spring Baking Championship finale, VIDEO: Funeral procession for long-time sheriff Tommy Ferrell passes by Adams County Sheriffs Office, Calm, focused and ready: The role of an ER nurse, A Team Sport: Emergency medicine, first-responders share common goal of saving lives, 2023, Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper. Law officials said deputies responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 9:30 p.m. at the 3000 block of U.S. 569 on Lake Saint John. Frank Morris (in the apron and visor) is seen standing in front of his shoe shop in Ferriday, La., in the 1950s. The City of Ferriday hit a dead end with the case, and the sheriff's Department expressed no interest in taking it over.[6]. [3] Much like the other Mississippi counties, law enforcement and the courts were run by whites. ", "We know what happened here. David Whatley, the first black student to integrate Ferriday High in 1966, returned from tortuous days at school only to face just as many threats outside his home. "I dont know what was going through a 7-year-olds mind, but I know it was a lot, so I would imagine that was we know that's why it took so long.". The project reporters have already produced information in high-profile cases that prosecutors have used to build criminal cases against killers and conspirators who had walked free for more than 40 years. Read full article on original website. Cold Case: James Ford Seale: A sheriff's election, nine deaths and a silver dollar, Cold Case: Who killed Joseph Edwards? Frank Morris was a 51-year-old black businessman in Ferriday who ran a shoe shop and repair store, where he served both black and white customers. In the last 5 years Ferriday has seen decreasing violent crime and decreasing property crime. The 2020 Ferriday crime rate rose by 14% compared to 2019. Two WHARBOM informants also reported information regarding the murder of Morris, and the FBI reopened the Morris investigation in August 1967. "So, this is a monster.". [4] Multiple disappearances and murders in the Natchez, Mississippi, area were connected to both the KKK and the SDG. At approximately noon Sunday, Grant Dunbar, 24, was found dead at a residence in the area of Fifth Street and Georgia Avenue in Ferriday, said Ferriday Police Chief Sam King. Morris opened Frank's Shoes Service in the late 1930s, in his hometown of Ferriday, Louisiana. Once their mission was complete, members quietly returned to their modest lives. The group is also suspected in the disappearance . His daily tasks included repairing shoes and saddles, selling jewellery, hats, and clothing, and dyeing purses. According to the Concordia Sentinel, the Ferriday Police Department began investigating the deaths of two people who were killed Wednesday afternoon. [2] Three new subjects were identified, but the investigators did not uncover any credible physical evidence supporting the allegations. [2] A few days after the arson, the informant was approached by Morace who stated that if "he, Jones, Torgersen, and Scarborough were arrested, the source should get them out of jail". When Jones was interviewed on September22, he stated that "if he was arrested for this crime, officers also would have to arrest DeLaughter". Another has been arrested on a second-degree murder charge Tuesday in relation to a fatal shooting that took place Sunday afternoon in broad daylight in Ferriday. Virginia online court records do not list an attorney for Theriot. Later that week, Morace called the informant saying that, "The rabbit hunt is off forget about it". Robert Lewis, whose home was bombed by Klansmen, drew inspiration from the sacrifices of the CORE workers. The main force that we had was marches, he said. Ferridays population of more than 4,500 residents was roughly half black and half white in the mid-1960s, a time when black citizens quietly celebrated civil rights wins and white supremacists desperately tried to halt legislative and social change. 2021-09-07. Ku Klux Klan (KKK) activity was exceptionally high during the Civil Rights era. The group was largely found in Mississippi and Louisiana, and was named for their practice of identifying themselves by carrying a silver dollar. Courtesy of the Concordia Sentinel and William Brown "By the time the neighbors called 911, the incident in Ascension was already happening," Ard said. ranks 6th in nation for best home security, SPD reports low home burglary count, Louisiana Cancer Research center expanding its research opportunities, KNOE Monday Evening Forecast with Chief Meteorologist Marcus Walter. As a Junior Deacon, he and other members were vigilant and on call when the older Deacons needed them. They met weekly and conducted all-night patrols. Whatley said it was important for Deacons and activists to demand change in lawful yet effectiveways during the civil rights era, and he said that still holds true for the nationwide protests against police abuses today. The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations is currently investigating an officer-involved shooting that took place in Ferriday on Sunday night. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. A Louisiana man accused of shooting to death five people, including his parents, at two locations last week has confessed to the killings, but the motive is still unknown, authorities said Tuesday. Mr. McCrays zeal for education, infectious smile, gentle personality, fashion sense, and love for children will be missed by all of us at Natchez-Adams School District. There have been allegations of witness intimidation, evidence tampering, and involvement by local law enforcement. Morris told the FBI that the men were from Natchez, Mississippi, were between the ages of 30 and 35, and that "one [man] was young with gray hair and the other was very white". "We are actively, as we speak involved in this investigation. We believe there had been some type of verbal altercation from maybe an ongoing dispute. The building was burned down in the early morning of December 10, 1964. CPSO officials said the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide and there are no suspects at large. Investigators say the people involved were 19 and 20-years . All rights reserved. . [6] Although people generally thought highly of Morris, black residents thought Morris was too shocking to white residents. A 20-year-old male and 26-year-old female were killed by apparent gunshot wounds. He was targeted by the SDG. They were identified as 65-year-old Mark Clark and 49-year-old Donna R. Clark, both of Ferriday. [5] Jackson had recently been promoted to a position never before held by an African American. More history:Woman works to preserve Bogalusa home turned headquarters of civil rights group. No subscription required to play. Soon, Lewis was back in his Ferriday home and reunited with his wife and children. "[2] The FBI collected evidence at the crime scene and conducted interviews with local law enforcement, local Klan leaders, and witnesses. They also stated that Morace described a battery-powered device which could "spray five gallons of gasoline in five minutes". Authorities in Concordia Parish say they are investigating the murder of a man recently named Teacher of the Year. [according to whom?] Morris, in particular, is featured in this text. He said the bureau concluded that if the bombs two sticks of blasting powder would have ignited, the house might have been destroyed. Our effort here, as it is everywhere, is to try and uncover the truth. The sheriff's office said the suspect allegedly pointed a gun out the window of his vehicle causing deputies to seek cover, and that he was ordered to drop his weapon and was arrested without incident. The group is believed to have had only some twenty members. He killed five people," Webre said. Nelson, Stanley. The following day Morris's shop was attacked. This was of interest to the FBI, as multiple informants stated that the Concordia Parish Sheriff's Department had prior knowledge of the coming attack on Morris, and was told to "be on the other side of the parish". Ridgen, a filmmaker from Toronto who reported this story for NPR, helped to spearhead the project with Vancouver-based Paperny Films, and the Berkeley, Calif.-based Center for Investigative Reporting. Every journalism student in America should be making a pilgrimage to Ferriday, Louisiana, on this date to sit at the feet of and learn from Stanley Nelson, 59-year-old Editor of the Concordia Sentinel, a small weekly newspaper (circulation about 5,000) that serves up mostly local news, wedding announcements, obituaries and sports to the residents of FERRIDAY Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office deputies investigated two shooting deaths in the area of Lake St. John Sunday night. Ard has said that Theriot left the Ernests' home in Livingston Parish in Billy Ernests pickup truck on the morning of the killings and that he was in the same vehicle when he was arrested in Virginia. The SDG regularly committed arson, bombings, and murder. Frank Morris (in the apron and visor) is seen standing in front of his shoe shop in Ferriday, La., in the 1950s. Part 1:A half-century ago in Jonesboro, armed black men fought back. The sheriff's office says the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide and that there . Ferriday policemen, including "DeLaughter, Bill Ogden, and Ferriday Police Chief Bob Warren", had ordered an unidentified witness to "keep his mouth shut", and later told him to "get out of town". Born in Jonesboro before spreading most notably to Bogalusa, Homer and Ferriday, the Deacons main purpose was to fight fire with fire and to protect their communities. Nelson, Stanley. We were able to get a dying declaration from the dad before he expired, Webre said. The Frank Morris case is just one of many civil rights era cold cases that journalists like Stanley Nelson and David Ridgen are investigating as part of The Civil Rights Cold Case Project, which is an unprecedented collaboration of journalists from across the media spectrum, created in the aftermath of the trial of former Klansman James Ford Seale. Who would you like to see as our next U.S. president? Davis furnished the bureau a list of Ferriday Deacons, and he identified former Harlem Globetrotter Johnny Lloyd, who was a four-sport coach at the local black school Sevier High, as a Deacon. According to investigators, on the night of the murder Frederick McCray Jr. gave a ride to the two suspects. According to the sheriff's office, it happened on June 23, 2019, in the. The FBI concluded the investigation in 2016 when investigators determined there was insufficient evidence to charge any individual with any federal crimes; furthermore, important witnesses, suspects, and informants were dead. The Deacons were unlike any such group before or since. According to the Concordia Parish Sheriffs Office, on April 25, 2021, at around 9:30 p.m., they were called to a residence on Lake St. John about a shooting. Check out these great suggestions. Police say the couple was at the woman's mother house at the time. Klansmen took advantage of this, throwing a bomb just outside Whatleys bedroom window. Harp and colleagues also found a "slightly scorched" suitcase filled with fourteen and a half pints of bourbon. Ferriday, La. 0. McGorty reported that the Deacons membership in Ferriday totaled 23. Later that week, officers Frank DeLaughter and Bill Ogden intimidated Kelly and forced him out of town. The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office was called to the home at around 8:47 a.m. that morning, he said. FERRIDAY, La. Ferriday Police investigating suspected murder-suicide, West Monroe man arrested after allegedly raping adopted daughter, Monroe duo arrested for alleged sex trafficking of minor, 10-year-old shot during argument, Marion man arrested, 2 Winnfield residents arrested following death of 3 year old, One lucky winner in Arkansas is about to become $2.338M richer, La. The preliminary investigation concluded that Morris had not been involved in any racially motivated activities. Devils Walking: Klan Murders along the Mississippi in the 1960s. [2], On August 3, 1967, a confidential informant, who was a high-ranking officer of the KKK, told the FBI that a few days prior to the Morris arson, E.D. Morace approached the informant regarding an African American, referred to as "Old Frank", whom Morace said "had been flirtatious with white women". Cops are investigating a double shooting -- including one fatality -- in the now-famous L.A. neighborhood where the movie "Friday" was filmed. Whatley contacted COREs central office after the attack, sparking an FBI investigation. They knew Klansmen would await Lewis release and that deputies would notify the Klan that a black activist was being released from jail. Webre has said that shooting was reported at around 8:45 a.m. Investigators believe Theriot was staying with the Ernest family because he had been kicked out of his parents' home, Ard said. We worked into the night (Sunday). Frank Morris fathered one child, and had two grandchildren. We would make it known that we were alert and we were awake, and they would flee, Whatley said. Violent Klansmen had long been embedded with corrupt cops, some of whom wore robes themselves. David Whatley, who was a CORE member himself while a student at Ferriday High School, confirmed in a recent interview that the Ferriday Deacons were armed. After a false KKK rumor that he had flirted with. The Natchez-Adams School District released the following statement: Mr. Morris was interviewed three times; however, he was heavily medicated. The suspects then drove the body to an old food plant, where they hid it under plywood and garbage. Klansmen had learned that McCraney was a member of a secret organization of black activists, the Deacons for Defense and Justice. Donnie. [2], The FBI reopened the Frank Morris investigation in 2007, as part of the Civil Rights Era Cold Case Initiative. Theriot said he used a handgun stolen from his father, Keith Theriot, and that it was the weapon recovered after he was arrested, Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said at a news conference Tuesday. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. [3] Morris had a shoe repair shop in Ferriday, and died after his shoe repair shop was burned. [2] After one of the subjects lit a match, the shop caught fire; Morris was still present in the building. The sheriffs office says the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide and that there are no suspects at large. Still inside at the time, Morris was severely injured; he died four days later at a nearby hospital in Ferriday, La. We will continue to update this story with more information as it develops. ( KTVE/KARD) According to the Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office, on Monday, May 16, 2022, deputies received information from Monroe Police Department detectives about a person. So when there was a problem, there was a way of communicating to them what was going on.. Ferriday police responded to shots fired at approximately noon Sunday and found a man deceased with gunshot wounds upon their arrival. These men had long been outraged by one horrid memory the 1964 arson murder of Ferriday shoe shop owner Frank Morris. Justice may finally be served, thanks to the reporting of Stanley Nelson of the weekly Concordia Sentinel. READ:George Floyds killing resurrects nightmares for families of civil rights martyrs. The Deacons came to life solely to protect their communities and others victimized by Klansmen and police. -- David Whatley, the first black student to integrate Ferriday High in 1966, returned from tortuous days at school only to face just as many threats outside his home. FERRIDAY, La. Nelson is a member of the Civil Rights Cold Case Project, a group of journalists, filmmakers, law schools and other organizations created in 2008 by Paperny Films in Canada and the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, Calif. With the help of FBI documents Nelson received through Freedom of Information requests and from the Syracuse College of Law Cold Case Justice Initiative, and extensive interviews with those who knew Morris or about the case, he was able to piece together the story, ultimately naming a person suspected of being involved: Arthur Leonard Spencer, 71, of Rayville, La. The group killed an African American man, Frank Morris, by arson in Ferriday, Louisiana, and is suspected in two car bombings of NAACP leaders in Natchez, Mississippi, George Metcalfe and Wharlest Jackson. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. CONCORDIA PARISH, La. However, Poisott was eliminated as a potential witness due to his erratic amphetamine use and difficulties differentiating between personal knowledge and hearsay. "He gave up," and authorities were able to place him under arrest, he said. In Homer, the Deacons defied Willie Rainachs segregation, the 1964 arson murder of Ferriday shoe shop owner Frank Morris, In Bogalusa, the Deacons fought violence with violence, the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication Cold Case Project, Woman works to preserve Bogalusa home turned headquarters of civil rights group, Sons of Klansmen tied to Louisiana murder haunted by sins of their fathers, A half-century ago in Jonesboro, armed black men fought back, Here are 19 of the most influential civil rights leaders of today, George Floyds killing resurrects nightmares for families of civil rights martyrs, the nationwide protests against police abuses today, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. "1970 Census: Population & Housing, Procedural History", "Cold Case: Silver Dollar Group linked to attacks Edwards, Morris, Jackson, Metcalfe", "Wharlest Jackson - Notice to Close File", "Cold Case: Silver Dollar Group Linked to Attacks Edwards, Morris, Jackson, Metcalfe, List of lynching victims in the United States, William "Froggie" James and Henry Salzner, Elijah Frost, Abijah Gibson, Tom McCracken, Thomas Moss, Henry Stewart, Calvin McDowell (TN), Thomas Harold Thurmond and John M. 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