killing in ferriday, louisiana

( 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. 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. ", "We know what happened here. Not far from Lewis home lived Antonne Duncan, who days later ran through a Klan roadblock when he and other African American men transported Lewis home after his release from jail. CONCORDIA PARISH, La. The building was burned down in the early morning of December 10, 1964. 4/23/2021 7:14 AM PT. According to the Concordia Sentinel, the Ferriday Police Department began investigating the deaths of two people who were killed Wednesday afternoon. The Deacons connection to churches inspired the groups name. Much like the Morris case, witness accounts were not corroborating, and in August 1968, the investigation was closed. Until now, the case has gone. Failure to solve Ku Klux Klan-linked murder prompts anger, 47 years on Later that week, officers Frank DeLaughter and Bill Ogden intimidated Kelly and forced him out of town. [2] After one of the subjects lit a match, the shop caught fire; Morris was still present in the building. 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. David Whatley was among the men inspired by Morris life and angered by his murder, and he would become the youngest member of the group that took on Klansmen and bad cops when they organized the Ferriday chapter of the Deacons for Defense and Justice. LSP investigating officer-involved shooting in Concordia Parish The group is also suspected in the disappearance . He was killed when the shop burned down in 1964. More history:Woman works to preserve Bogalusa home turned headquarters of civil rights group. James Poissot of Baton Rouge never knew his father, but knew he was a violent man who beat James' mother so severely . [2] Morris entered a coma two days later, and died on December14. So far no charges have been filed. By Sabrina Simms Robertson. Duncan and a few other young, armed Deacons piled into his brothers canary yellow Pontiac to rescue Lewis, who also received help from a white bondsman from New Orleans. Devils Walking: Klan Murders along the Mississippi in the 1960s. The group is also suspected in the disappearance and murder of an African American employee of the Shamrock Motel, Joseph Edwards. [citation needed], Ferriday is located in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Adams County, Mississippi. Jeff Davis 8: The True Story of the 'Murder in the Bayou' Killings In February1968, the second investigation was closed when the FBI determined that there was insufficient evidence to charge any of the suspects. All rights reserved. The sheriff's office says the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide and that there . When Theriot arrived at the home, deputies were already there. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. 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. We will continue to update this article as more information becomes available. No one was ever arrested for the . He was also named 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year. In a report from the Concordi Justice may finally be served, thanks to the reporting of Stanley Nelson of the weekly Concordia Sentinel. 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. FERRIDAY Concordia Parish Sheriffs Office deputies investigated two shooting deaths in the area of Lake St. John Sunday night. He said the bureau concluded that if the bombs two sticks of blasting powder would have ignited, the house might have been destroyed. Later on, Anthony Lucky McCraneys gas station was firebombed, marking the sixth act of racial violence in Ferriday within a two-month period, according to CORE documents. Preliminary autopsy results show the three members of the Ernest family were each shot one time in the head with the handgun that was recovered, Ard said. [2] The FBI investigators believed that Morris knew his attackers, but was unwilling to divulge their identities. His father, Sullivan, operated a shoe shop in Natchez, Mississippi. Who would you like to see as our next U.S. president? Two charged with murder after Natchez Teacher of the Year killed in La. Wed walk nights with rifles on our shoulders like you would see in some foreign countries, Whatley said. Before those killings, Dakota Theriot allegedly killed Summer Ernest, 20, her father Billy Ernest, 43, and her brother, Tanner Ernest, 17. "We've got a better picture on how this happened. 2 People Shot in L.A. Neighborhood Where 'Friday' Was Filmed - TMZ Frank Morris (19141964) was an American businessman who died as a result of arson to his shoe shop in Ferriday, Louisiana, a city with a history of racial violence. Kelly later told Rosa Williams, Morris's granddaughter, "I know what happened to your grandfather You don't have to look no further than the police department. (See pages 14-16 of this PDF.). The FBI later concluded that the local Klan was likely to be involved, but conflicting accounts, no viable subjects, and lack of a motive led to the investigation being closed in May1965. [2] The informant, fearing for his life, did not share this information with the FBI until two years after the arson. He was convicted at that time of killing his parents and a teenage friend of his. The sheriffs office said the incident happened on June 23 in the Ferriday area in northeast Louisiana. 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". Read full article on original website. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considered the SDG to be a highly-dangerous domestic terror cell, and conducted multiple investigations into its activities. Concordia Parish authorities 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. [2], By the fall of 1967, E.D. Morace, Tommie Lee Jones, Thor Lee Torgersen, and James Lee Scarborough were the primary suspects in the murder of Frank Morris. Sons of KKK members haunted by sins of their fathers - The Daily Advertiser 0. The newspapers the bourbon was wrapped in had no signs of burning, indicating tampering with the scene. Louisiana journalist pursuing KKK killers across time - USA Today McGorty reported that the Deacons membership in Ferriday totaled 23. Lewis decided that if two visiting white men like Atcheson and Clurman were willing to take a beating in the name of civil rights in Ferriday, it was time for him to take a stand, too, and in August 1965, Lewis got involved with the CORE-sponsored Ferriday Freedom Movement. [2] Morace requested that Klan members from Mississippi "give him a beating". 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. UPDATE: Ferriday man charged with murder in Sunday afternoon fatal Frank Morris (in the apron and visor) is seen standing in front of his shoe shop in Ferriday, La., in the 1950s. The late Sammy Davis Jr. no relation to the famous entertainer was elected Ferridays first black mayor in 1984. Concordia Parish authorities investigating suspected murder-suicide - KNOE 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. Authorities in Louisiana will seek to extradite Theriot from Virginia, Webre said. He killed five people," Webre said. CPSO officials said the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide and there are no suspects at large. 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. He was killed when the shop burned down in 1964. The Department of Justice and the FBI say they are conducting ongoing investigations into the Morris case. McCray dutifully taught Technology Foundations and also served as Assistant Test Coordinator. After a false KKK rumor that he had flirted with. Police investigating Labor Day homicide in Ferriday. That drew the ire of Klansmen, and three months later, some of them snuck up to his house and threw a gasoline bomb at it. That was not the only time Whatley helped an imprisoned black man in Ferriday. (KTVE/KARD) On Wednesday September 15, officers with the Ferriday Police Department arrested 19-year-old Denzel Washington for 2nd Degree Murder. [2] The FBI had received information that local law enforcement officials had been involved. [according to whom?] According to LSP,. 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. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Looking for something special to get your mom for Mothers Day? 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. [2], Stanley Nelson, an award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist, published Devils Walking: Klan Murders along the Mississippi in the 1960s, after a series of articles in the Concordia Sentinel. Whatley also was at a great risk for Klan attacks because CORE workers were housed in his grandmothers home, where he also lived. In 2007, Ridgen published a documentary for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that led to the federal trial and conviction of Seale, for the 43-year-old murder of African-Americans Henry Hezekiah and Charles Eddie Moore, two 19-year-olds from the Meadville, Miss., area. We believe there had been some type of verbal altercation from maybe an ongoing dispute. Frank Morris fathered one child, and had two grandchildren. "We don't really know what the motive is," Ard said. They were identified as 65-year-old Mark Clark and 49-year-old Donna R. Clark, both of Ferriday. [according to whom?] 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. All rights reserved. No one was hurt during the arrest, Ard said. At approximately 1:00a.m., Morris was awakened in a back room of the shop by the sound of glass breaking. Police said the weapon used the shooting was a .45 caliber pistol. The group is believed to have had only some twenty members. NATCHEZ, Miss. The 2020 Ferriday crime rate rose by 14% compared to 2019. Copyright 2019 WLBT. In the last 5 years Ferriday has seen decreasing violent crime and decreasing property crime. The SDG regularly committed arson, bombings, and murder. Had Duncan and the others not rescued Lewis, the police might have dropped him off at the railroad crossing in Vidalia, where Klansmen often waited when black people were released from the jail. "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. Holmes, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching, Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, National Museum of African American History and Culture, "The United States of Lyncherdom" (Twain), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Frank_Morris&oldid=1147937870, December 1964 events in the United States, Racially motivated violence against African Americans, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from February 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. We do feel this is isolated to those individuals and we dont feel the community is in any danger at this point.. Cops are investigating a double shooting -- including one fatality -- in the now-famous L.A. neighborhood where the movie "Friday" was filmed. [3] Much like the other Mississippi counties, law enforcement and the courts were run by whites. The first full investigation of the Frank Morris murder began in January 1965, at the request of then-Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, Burke Marshall. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All games are FREE. Ferriday Police investigating suspected murder-suicide A Ferriday man shot a Vidalia woman before killing himself with the same gun Tuesday afternoon in Ferriday. FERRIDAY, La. [1][pageneeded] The shop was also his residence. Vidalia juvenile dies in fatal crash in Concordia Parish When Jones was interviewed on September22, he stated that "if he was arrested for this crime, officers also would have to arrest DeLaughter". Atcheson, who was familiar with the Deacons for Defense and Justice, later told FBI agent Don McGorty that Ferriday resident Victor Graham had contacted the Jonesboro Deacons and that a month later, in August 1965, the Ferriday chapter was formed. The suspects are identified as Jimmy ONeal Lewis and Cedric Tennessee. Morris, a black man who had . No one was ever arrested for the killing. No charges have been brought despite three FBI investigations. King said the investigation is still ongoing and more arrests are anticipated. Whatley said Klansmen also shot out the lights on his grandmothers house and drove around the home several times for days to intimidate the family. There were two children, ages 1 and 7, in the Ernests home when the killing occurred, but they were unharmed and eventually went to a neighbors home for help, Ard said. All rights reserved. The Silver Dollar Group (SDG) was a violent and exceptionally militant Klan offshoot that operated in Adams County between 1964 and 1967. 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. [2] According to these informants, Morace was the primary conspirator in the murder of Morris; however, the FBI could not find any physical evidence corroborating their witnesses. According to Ferriday Police Investigator Sean Sublett, Wilbert Henderson, 42, arrived at his home on Fifth Street and Tennessee at 12:44 a.m. Saturday when a man approached him from the side of . We know that [Morris] was the victim of a brutal murder and we want to figure out who did it and we want to figure out why they did it," Tom Perez, assistant attorney general who runs the civil rights division of the Department of Justice, said in an interview last week. The Deacons were unlike any such group before or since. Two white CORE members, who practiced the non-violent approach championed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were beaten. "Cold Case: Morris' Granddaughter Says FBI $10,000 Reward Gives Her New Hope". "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.". Louisiana family seeks answers in cold case disappearance, murder On December 10, 1964, two unidentified white men set fire to the shoe repair shop owned by Frank Morris. 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. "[2], On November 1920, 1967, two confidential sources described the same November meeting in which Morace, Jones, Torgersen, and Scarborough implicated themselves in the murder of Morris. The sheriff's office said the incident happened on June 23 in the Ferriday area in northeast Louisiana. Published: Sep. 11, 2019 at 7:15 PM PDT. The sheriffs office says the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide and that there are no suspects at large. Morris opened Frank's Shoes Service in the late 1930s, in his hometown of Ferriday, Louisiana. Silver Dollar Group - Wikipedia I hate it for him and his family. Blacks also became deputies and police officers. His daily tasks included repairing shoes and saddles, selling jewellery, hats, and clothing, and dyeing purses. [6] Although people generally thought highly of Morris, black residents thought Morris was too shocking to white residents. We spent all those years hating each other for reasons we dont know, Whatley said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Nelson published the story Wednesday morning outlining the the allegations against Spencer. Investigators say the people involved were 19 and 20-years-old. It was kind of a barbershop-type of thing where you sit around, you talk about what has happened, who did this and who did that and what to expect next, Whatley recalled. "We dont know if we will ever have a motive exactly why this happened.". Lewis later told the Concordia Sentinel that it was a dreaded thing for a black man to be placed into a police car and taken to jail. Come nightfall, hed study his lessons by a spotlight illuminating his grandmothers lawn while keeping watch for violent Klansmen enraged over his involvement in the civil rights movement. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. There have been allegations of witness intimidation, evidence tampering, and involvement by local law enforcement. The group was largely found in Mississippi and Louisiana, and was named for their practice of identifying themselves by carrying a silver dollar. Once arrested himself on a false claim and held in the local jail for two weeks, Whatley said a primary function of the Ferriday Deacons was to protest the unlawful arrests of local black men. Morris, in particular, is featured in this text. [1] The group formed in 1964 at the Shamrock Motor Hotel in Vidalia, Louisiana by Raleigh Jackson "Red" Glover,[2] amidst dissatisfaction at the lack of forceful action by Klan groups in the region. 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. Who would you like to see as our next U.S. president? Although both the Deacons and its younger subgroup were secretive, they let members of the black community know they would protect them from the Klan and law enforcement. (WLBT) - According to Gray station KNOE, authorities in Concordia Parish, Louisiana are investigating the murder of a man recently named Teacher of the Year. CPSO investigates two shooting deaths on Lake St. John Frank Morris (in the apron and visor) is seen standing in front of his shoe shop in Ferriday, La., in the 1950s. 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 Lewis raced outside with a shotgun. For his work on the Frank Morris case, he was a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting and a recipient this year of the University of Oregon's Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism and the Louisiana State University Manship School Courage and Justice . Police say the bodies were found just before 2:30 p.m. at a home on Johnson Street. So when there was a problem, there was a way of communicating to them what was going on.. According to the L.A. County . Solving A 1964 Cold Case: Mystery Of Frank Morris : NPR That continues today, and even now.. As far as why this happened, that motive is still unclear," Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said at the news conference. [3] Morris had a shoe repair shop in Ferriday, and died after his shoe repair shop was burned. In December 1964, Frank Morris' shoe shop was set ablaze in the middle of the night. On May 20, 2005, the decomposed body of 28-year-old Loretta Lynn Chaisson Lewis was fished out of a canal on the outskirts of Jennings, in the Jefferson Davis Parish of southwest Louisiana. A month after Seale was indicted in January 2007, the FBI announced a new cold case initiative and published a shortlist of about 100 civil rights era cases that it planned to reprobe. Battered and ostracized while he attended Ferriday High, Whatley would go on to serve in Vietnam. These men had long been outraged by one horrid memory the 1964 arson murder of Ferriday shoe shop owner Frank Morris.No one was ever arrested for the killing. According to the sheriff's office, it happened on June 23, 2019, in the. Two charged with murder after Natchez teacher killed in - KNOE 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. Morris opened the front door of the shop, where he was met by two men in their thirties, one of whom was armed with a shotgun. "[6][pageneeded], Ferriday locals thought highly of Morris, who was a community-centric man who gave many young black men their first paying job; Morris also hosted a radio gospel program. Despite the damage the bomb caused to his home and the threat it posed to his family, Lewis was handcuffed by Ferriday police and charged with aggravated assault, according to FBI and CORE documents. Whatley contacted COREs central office after the attack, sparking an FBI investigation. FERRIDAY, La. Deacons for Defense and Justice in Ferriday, Louisiana took a stand The Natchez-Adams School District said he taught 8th grade at Morgantown Middle School. Autopsies for Theriots parents were scheduled for Tuesday, Webre said. 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.

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