LOW HIGH. During nearly 30 years of crimes, he's shown a quick temper, and a penchant for daytime robberies and violence against women. So, maybe Curtis didnt steal the gun after all. The presence of live ammunition on the floor suggested that one of the killers was using a 380 pistol that jammed repeatedly. "I can't recall seeing him that day," Woods said. The second season of the In the Dark podcast is about the case of Curtis Flowers, who was tried six times for the same crime. The truths going to come out.. "I haven't heard anything about them," John Johnson, the investigator for the District Attorney's office, had said when questioned about the Alabama suspects at the sixth Flowers trial. State investigator Jack Matthews, one of those who had read Hemphill his rights, said hed only talked to Hemphill for a short time before realizing he didnt know anything. Presley was the tougher of the two, and he didn't say much. The judge denied Flowers' request to attend his mother funeral here on July 21. And in the first Flowers trial, in 1997, he testified that "there were numerous suspects" in the early days of the investigation. Willie James Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Willie J Hemphill, Willie James Hemphill. APM lead investigative reporter Madeleine Baran found one page among the documents Evans did give the defense attorneys, a form someone named Willie James Hemphill, then 24, of Memphis had signed at the Winona Police Department five days after the murders waiving his rights to an attorney. It was all make believe. Initially, Hemphill refused to provide further details of his whereabouts on July 16, 1996. (1909). The killer or killers could have used the key to enter the side door, perhaps hiding before the store opened. Presley and Gamble were extradited to Alabama, and again Gamble was questioned, almost in passing, about Mississippi. Menu. Record for Willie James Hemphill 27 May 1919 - 14 July 2000 in Quantico National Cemetery, Triangle, Prince William, Virginia, United States from BillionGraves GPS Headstones. A wealthy lawyer who killed his wife and son at close range has been sentenced in one of the most troubling cases the judge said he had seen. Support investigative journalism with a donation to In the Dark. And Gamble wore Fila sneakers the same brand of shoe that left a bloody footprint at the Tardy Furniture scene. Although Presley was only sixteen, he seems to have been the driving force behind these crimes. According to the July 8, 1996, police report, store owner Bertha Tardy reported to police that a burglar or burglars smashed through a skylight, tried to break into the safe and stole the side door key. So, if I am forced to pick an alternative perpetrator in this awful case I would lean toward the Birmingham Boys, Presley in particular. A witness whose statement put a man on death row for 22 years has performed a remarkable backflip, turning a case on its head. During nearly 30 years of crimes, Willie James Hemphill has shown a quick temper, and a penchant for daytime robberies and violence against women. … A bunch of lies., Asked about Hallmons recantation, District Attorney Doug Evans, who has prosecuted Flowers in all six trials, said, Thats why the judge instructs the jury that a jailhouse informant is not very reliable, because they can change their statements very easily, for any reason. But maybe she didnt see anyone at all. Mississippi Smoldering: Tom Mangold reports on the Curtis Flowers case in 2009, Dwelling in a land of disbelief: My University Years . Share to Pinterest. Mr. Willie James Hemphill, of 1119-101 Kevin Lane, died Thursday, November 9, 2017. Hemphill certainly sounds like a career criminal who is fully capable of committing violence; but he doesnt come off as a psychopathic killerand whoever did the deed at the Tardy furniture store was either a hired killer (or killers) or enjoyed killing people for kicks. He will be held in a county jail while its decided if he should face trial for a stunning seventh time. Then why havent the defense attorneys who have represented Mr. Send Flowers. Curtis Flowers was raised in a loving home by a gospel-singing father and a mother known for her culinary and entrepreneurial abilities. In the sixth, he was again convicted and sentenced to death, and his latest appeal was ongoing when the podcast started. Why was he questioned? Doyle, he said, used to work for Tardy Furniture.. In the midst of the probe, the Mississippi Crime Lab sent a copy of the bloody shoeprint found at Tardy to the lead Boston investigator. We developed information that Doyle was missing from work that morning for about 30 or 40 minutes, which was about the time of the murders, he said. He told the podcast he had an airtight alibi. That was a lie, Hallmon told APM Reports in an interview on a contraband cellphone from his prison cell. I dont think they learned anything.. The murder weapon in the Tardy Furniture case was a .380, and an unfired round was found at the scene; investigators believe that might indicate that the gun had jammed. Willie James Hemphill was confronted in an Indianapolis courthouse last week, 23 years after police deemed him an initial suspect but later pursued leads against Flowers. Flowers was convicted and sentenced to death in the first three trials, but each time, the verdict was overturned on appeal for prosecutorial misconduct in the first and second trials, and for racially discriminatory jury selection in the third. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. But attempting to deliver another black man into that same system goes against its good work. Hemphill, Willie Mae Willie Mae Hemphill, Born March 8, 1926. When Flowers went back on trial, Armstrong heard no mention of the gun by either prosecutors or defense attorneys. Though he was a suspect early in the investigation, according to law enforcement records, and questioned extensively, Hemphill was later released after 11 days in jail and ruled out as a suspect for reasons that remain unclear. A Hearing. Yes and no. Saums believes whoever carried out the crime had inside information. "After a short time, we realized that he didn't know anything about the case.". Search by Name. The Tardy murders took place during a 24-day gap when the group carried out no robberies in Alabama. Fleming had said six times since 1996 she saw Flowers running from the store on the morning of the murders. Following a masterful turn as Flowers defense lawyer, the podcast also wanted to play the part of the prosecution. "If he's guilty, he's guilty.". The answer was yes many, many times. It was a .380-caliber automatic handgun, coated in dirt and rust. Hallmon is now serving three life sentences in Parchmanwithout the possibility of parole. Evidence of false testimony by prosecution witnesses could potentially get Flowers' conviction overturned, Bennett Gershman, a former prosecutor who now teaches law at Pace University, told the APM reporting team. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Reporters from In the Dark tried to contact Hemphill online to present him with these findings. When Armstrong first saw the gun in 2001, he thought back five years to the quadruple murder at Tardy Furniture, remembering that authorities had never found a murder weapon. When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case. January 5, 1960 - August 13, 2009. A .380-caliber is hard to control. When we finally found Hemphill, living in Indianapolis, he had some very surprising things to say about the case . Submit an Obituary. Search for Roberto Thorpe Living on Prison Blvd in Sparta, GA. Get started for free to find contact info for nearly any adult in the U.S. OBITUARIES. Matthews never responded. Investigators said the Simpson brothers were eliminated quickly because they were both at work at the time of the murders. Reporter: Mr Hemphill. And so, in the corridors of the courthouse last week, a female journalist with In The Dark confronted Hemphill about his airtight alibi. But, just like Curtis Flowers, Doyle Simpson fails the motive test. View Willie Hemphill results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Phone Number: (704) 751-NZMM +2 phones. Presley murdered four people and wounded three others in a spree of robberies and murders that year. Prosecutors claimed Flowers wore a size 10.5 shoe, and a state expert testified that the 10.5 size was consistent with the bloody footprints. James appears the first time in the 1870 Federal Census as a six year-old, living with two brothers and a sister on his parents farm in Lampasas County, Texas. 614 records for Willie Hemphill. Photos. Search by Name. If Gamble and McKenzie were in Mississippi the day of the Winona murders its very possible that Presley was with them. 0 Reputation Score Range. It was either a paid hit on a single individual that went bad when other employees entered the room, or the awful deed was done for the hell of it. He freely admitted that he had been a suspect and even says that, although innocent, he would have made a more convincing suspect than Curtis. Flowers has remained imprisoned the entire time, for more than 20 years. They contained no mention of the Alabama suspects. Willie James Hemphill, 38. Willie Ray Hemphill, Jr., 49, of Bryan, passed away Thursday, August 13, 2009 at his residence. Presley and Gamble made three runs to Boston during the summer of 1996: once after their June crime spree, once after the pawn shop murders and once immediately after the furniture store murders in Winona. Record that.. Ive been confused of the day from the beginning. Willie James Hemphill Phone Numbers (662) ***-4391 The shooter, Marcus Presley (16) and his accomplice, Lasamuel Gamble (18) were arrested in Norfolk, Virginia on August 9, 1996 after two weeks on the run. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. with Reverend Shane Russell officiating, assisted by Max Bennett. Now the spotlight is on three other deaths that are linked to the case. Prosecutors have always said that Curtis Flowers was the only serious suspect in the Tardy Furniture investigation. If youve listened toIn the Darkor watchedWrong Manon the Starz channel, you either came away convinced that Curtis Flowers didnt kill four people in cold blood back in 1996 or you werent paying attention. He died on July 14, 2000 at age 81. Suppressing the evidence theyve already gathered might mean denying justice to the victims. The U.S. Supreme Court decided 7-to-1 that prosecutors unconstitutionally eliminated black jurors during the trial proceedings for Timothy Tyrone Foster in 1987. analysis of his record of striking potential black jurors, Curtis Flowers' prosecution witness says testimony was all 'make believe', Recanted testimony, subjective science helps put Curtis Flowers on death row, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Maybe Doyle did the deed and reported his gun stolen to throw everyone off the scent. Willie James Hemphill didn't come up until the sixth Flowers trial, and law enforcement officers said he was eliminated as a suspect in about five minutes. How do we create a person's profile? They didnt question him about other suspects or bring up Flowers name. In the 1980s and '90s, Hemphill spent time in Memphis. The two men had family in both Boston and Norfolk. Selected filmography. We know that Willie James Hemphill had been residing in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina 29341. Hemphill was held in jail for 11 days, according to county records, though it's not clear why he was held. Each victim of the July 16, 1996 murders was murdered execution styleone or two bullets to the back of the head. Not the right Willie? In 1996, four people were killed execution-style inside Tardy Furniture, which faces one of the busiest streets in the small town of Winona. James Mather at IMDb; This page was last . WINONA Renowned pathologist Dr. Michael Baden said evidence he reviewed of the 1996 Tardy Furniture slayings suggests more than one personcarried out the quadruple murder. Willie James Hemphill Birth 27 May 1919 Death 14 Jul 2000 (aged 81) Burial. Shooting a handgun with accuracy is more difficult than people think, said private investigator Charlie Saums of Ridgeland. And the investigative file not shared with the defense showed investigators had considered Marcus Presley, the gunman in the murders and a string of similar crimes that same summer in neighboring Alabama. FUNERAL HOMES. District Attorney Doug Evans insisted he'd given the defense access to all records of the investigation. But both denied having committed the Tardy murders and said they'd never even been to Mississippi. Baran noted that Hemphill was known to love the song Nasty Bitch by Bust Down it was not for kids, Baran said which he would sing and dance to on Winonas streets in those days. After a multistate manhunt, Presley and Gamble were arrested in Norfolk, Virginia. Evans has spoken to the Greenwood Commonwealth, most recently about APM Reports analysis of his record of striking potential black jurors vs. white juries 4 1/2 times more often. Hemphills name came up briefly in Flowers 2010 trial. Marcus Presley sometimes accompanied by LaSamuel Gamble had committed a string of robberies in 1996 in and around Birmingham, with the same modus operandi. I was nowhere around., Reporter: The one thing that makes sense to me is that maybe if you had been on Front Street (where the murders took place) and you had seen something , Hemphill: Im done talking to you, youre trying to put me on Front Street., Reporter: Did you commit the murders that day?, Hemphill: Did you? "Because once you get people on a roll to admitting to crimes, they just don't stop. Obituaries Section. If Flowers did what he is accused of doing, he deserves his punishment, Armstrong said. But In The Dark was apparently unsatisfied with exonerating the innocent: It needed the narrative closure of guilt, and found its key to that in Hemphill. Also known as Willie L Hemphill, Hemphill Wilie. 23 Matches for Willie Hemphill . We encourage you to research and . Hemphill said investigators tape recorded the interrogation and took notes, none of which was in the file given to Flowers defense attorneys. At the time of his first known arrest, in 1990, he was an 18-year-old high school dropout bouncing back and forth between his mother's house in Memphis, Tennessee, and Winona, where his grandmother lived. If it hadnt been for a single slip of paper in the prosecutors file with Willie James Hemphills name on it, theIn the Dark squad wouldnt have known about the man. 0 Add Rating Anonymously. It took the In the Dark team a full year to track Hemphill down in an Indianapolis courtroom (he's still getting into trouble). He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film Belfast. Presley wasnt the only suspect defense attorneys didnt know investigators had seriously considered. Burial will be at Barber Memorial Cemetery Visitation will be observed from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. Willie James Hemphill; Willie James Hemphill, Age 44. aka Willie Jr Hemphill. Three of the four were each killed with a single head shot. The ugly facts of Hemphills past werent ugly enough for the podcast In The Dark emphasized its clear disdain of him. Hemphill seemed surprised when reminded that he'd told In the Dark in June 2018 that he was with an old friend named Twanda Woods. His father had, for just a few months, been the first sheriff in the county, but returned to farming his land. 0.68 2.43 /5. A defense expert responded in a sworn statement that the bloody footprints left behind by the popular shoe could havebeen anywhere between sizes 8.5 and 11. The fourth and fifth trials ended with hung juries. While Presley drove the action, Gamble kept his gun trained on the scene in case anyone tried to flee. But after several hours of interviews conducted over two days, Hemphill finally disclosed his alibi: He said he was at a mall in Memphis at the time of the murders, with a Winona woman named Twanda Woods. Inside the store, authorities discovered bloody footprints left behind by a Grant Hill Fila basketball shoe. 1. The podcast has never cared about the fundamental horrors of the justice system; it just wants to ensure that those horrors only happen to the correct people. In the Dark,episode 10, makes it clear that the prosecution committed what is called a Brady violation by failing to inform defense counsel that Hemphill had been a suspect early in the investigation. During the sixth Flowers trial, Matthews, who worked with Miller at the Mississippi Highway Patrol, said the only suspect in the case aside from Flowers was Doyle Simpson, whose gun the prosecution argued Flowers stole and used as the murder weapon. But the investigative file turned over to Flowers defense attorneys didnt mention the possible link. The Dallas Morning News Homepage. The news was quickly followed by a shocking revelation in American Public Media podcast In The Dark. By the end of the two episodes devoted to the Flowers case, they had all abandoned Curtis as a suspect. Her new position on exactly what happened that morning is likely to be heard by a jury if Fleming faces one for a seventh time. An APM Reports investigation of Hallmon's criminal history shows that at least seven felony charges against him fell away between 2001 and 2016. They said they didnt have a case against me.. Records show he was questioned Hemphill said he was interrogated for hours and held for 11 days before being released. Whoever did this crime (the Tardy murders) was a good shot.. So, if Curtis Flowers isnt guilty, who is? According to the ledger, about$287 was missing from the cash drawer the morning of the murders. Why was he questioned? After examining the autopsy reportsand crime scene photographs, Baden said the evidence suggests one person maintained control while another person carried out the execution-style killings. We encourage you to research and . It was June 21 just an hour before the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn Curtis Flowers' conviction and reporters for In the Dark had intercepted Hemphill at a courthouse in Indianapolis. Presley and Gamble did four of the June heists together and one crime was perpetrated by Presley alone. Why was he questioned? In the Dark has previously reported that Hemphill was an initial suspect in the days after the July 1996 murders in Winona, Mississippi. It was his legal obligation, but its easy to see why he didnt. How do we create a person's profile? Me and Twanda was out of town," he said. She said she had seen somebody at 7:15 a.m. outside Simpsons car at the factory. That night, according to Moore, Hemphill was home with an ounce of marijuana, some of which they smoked together. Her sister says she was in the house with her and not where she said she was.. The two of them walked the same school halls from first grade through high school, he said. The whole time Ive been telling them, I dont remember the day, Fleming said. It's not like you're going to say, 'Yeah I robbed this 7-11, but I didn't rob that 7-11.'". Prosecutors have always said that Curtis Flowers was the only serious suspect in the Tardy Furniture investigation. In Flowers' third trial, Snow testified that the height of the man she saw was between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-5. He allegedly stabbed a woman with a screwdriver, among other violent crimes. Does this theft provide a clue as to how the killers made their getaway? She said that investigators have never questioned her about Hemphill's story. "I was coming out of Piggly Wiggly and there was a woman, I will never forget her name. Even before finding the gun, Armstrong had doubts about whether Flowers played a role in the quadruple murder. He explained his suspicion that the gun might have something to do with the Tardy murders. Their size was a.380. 1.58 3.33 /5. Mark Weingarten is an American production sound mixer.He has been nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Sound Mixing, winning in 2017 for Dunkirk.He has worked on more than 120 films since 1987. Willie James Hemphill has done many terrible things. An early suspect in the murders, Willie James Hemphill, who has a long criminal history, lived less than a mile from where Armstrong found this gun in 2011. APM lead investigative reporter Madeleine Baran found one page among the documents Evans did give the defense attorneys, a form someone named Willie James Hemphill, then 24, of Memphis had signed . You said that was an airtight alibi we talked to Twanda and she said she wasnt with you that day., Hemphill: They released me based on that. . Share via email. Willie James Hemphill has lived in Evansville, IN 47714; Greenwood, MS 38930. Only now, a new name has surfaced. In The Dark also found out that prosecutions star witness, Odell Hallmon, secretly received special treatment prosecutors dropped charges in seven felony cases against him in exchange for his false testimony that Flowers made a jailhouse confession. And Hemphill had actually lived for a time in Winona. Their names are Michael Lee Boies , Crystal Davis , and six others. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. Photos. "The best of my recollection, Mississippi was able to determine that our guys weren't the ones, or there was something that didn't make them right for the Mississippi case," said Mike DeHart, the Alabama sheriff's deputy who questioned Gamble. They also discovered an unfired .380 bullet, which might suggest the gun jammed. He's also targeted women in general and often women carrying purses. William is related to Alicia Kristen Hemphill . Miller also asked the investigator to interrogate Presley and Gamble about the Tardy Furniture murders. But this week she told journalist Madeleine Baran that she was wrong. After nearly 23 years locked up, Curtis Flowers has a chance to get out on bail if his lawyers can convince the judge to rule in his favor. Quantico . In the months before the Tardy Furniture murders, Presley hit a grocery store, a fireworks retailer, three gas stations and three liquor stores. The Dallas Morning News. Willie James Hemphill Addresses Click Here For Willie James Hemphill's Last Known Address 1241 Hatfield Dr, Evansville, IN 47714 1001 Mississippi Ave, Greenwood, MS 38930. In total, he killed four people and wounded three others in the space of just three months. Find Willie Hemphill's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. He was born on December 6, 1948 in Weir, Mississippi the son of Eddie Allen and Garner Lee Edwards Hemphill. Armstrong questions whether Flowers could have carried out the killings of four people execution-style. LOW HIGH. Willie James Hemphill didn't come up until the sixth Flowers trial, and law enforcement officers said he was eliminated as a suspect in about five minutes. In The Dark was clearly righteous in exonerating a black man condemned by a ludicrously unjust system. Burial will follow in Hemphill Star Cemetery, Boyce. Their reporters know better than anyone that Hemphill wouldnt get a fair trial. . Evidence suggests that Marcus Presley was a psychopath who enjoyed random violence for its own sake. But we found a document showing that another man, Willie James Hemphill, had also been questioned just days after the murders. A series of Willie James Hemphill mugshots ranging from 2000 through 2016. So where was Hemphill during the day? Just weeks ago, however, reporters discovered that Hemphill had an upcoming court date in Indianapolis and met him there. View the profiles of professionals named "Willie Hemphill" on LinkedIn. And that omission, a law professor and former prosecutor told the team, could mean a seventh new trial for Flowers, condemined to death for the murders of four people at Tardy Furniture Store. Free this man. Asked if he'd committed the murders at Tardy Furniture, he simply said, "Hell, no.". Thats just standard procedure. An early suspect in the murders, Willie James Hemphill, who has a long criminal history, lived less than a mile from where Armstrong found this gun in 2011. 1 hr 4 min . As far as him telling me he killed some people, hell, naw, he aint ever told me that. The weapon in at least some of the Alabama cases was a .380 handgun that tended to jam. He quoted Bertha Tardy as saying he would have to be responsible for paying for the batteries. The Dallas Morning News. But there was a three-week gap in the Alabama crime spree right at the time of the Tardy murders. Hemphill supposedly had an alibi for the time of the murders, but when In The Dark dug into it, they were able to determine his alibi was barely credible if at all. But it isnt necessary to prove a case against any of these people; the real scandal is that the existence of alternative suspects was systematically withheld from defense counsel. No one was going to all that trouble over the approximately $400 investigators say was in the till that morning. Sign the Guest Book . APM Reports, the investigative and documentary reporting team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, spent a year digging into the Flowers case for its In the Dark podcast. We went to boot camp together., The officers denial dont make me mad, he said. Sympathy Ideas. listing of 6209011-20040428-Willie-James-Hemphill-Criminal-Civil_jp2.zip; file as jpg timestamp size; 6209011-20040428-Willie-James-Hemphill-Criminal-Civil_jp2/ More: Curtis Flowers' prosecution witness says testimony was all 'make believe', More: Recanted testimony, subjective science helps put Curtis Flowers on death row, Supreme Court rules jury selection in Ga. trial unconstitutional. While that case was delayed for more than two years, Hallmon murdered three people, including his ex-girlfriend, Marquita Hill, and her mother. Hallmon told APM Reports that he became a prosecution witness in spring 2001 after being arrested on multiple drug charges. "I don't know nothing about it.". In 1996, Mississippi investigators told the local paper they were looking into a possible connection. She lived in Winston, Mississippi, United States in 1930 and Beat 2, Winston, Mississippi, United States in 1940. Memphis is two hours north of Winona, just across the border with Tennessee. This case was filed in U.S. Courts Of Appeals, U.S. Court Of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. Law enforcement had interviewed a different suspect with a violent criminal history, Willie James Hemphill a fact which was not disclosed to the defense. When Baran and her producer eventually tracked down the right Hemphill, he told them, Yeah, they actually had me as a suspect in that.. F.T. Updated: June 22, 2016 . The FBI checked it out. He told the Commonwealth, I think these (APM Reports) folks are just coming up with anything they can to discredit the case. But if Curtis Flowers doesnt get relief in the face of these well-publicized facts there will be hell to pay. His age is 79. Willie James Hemphill in Georgia Fulton County arrested for U/S VGCSA POSS* BLOG; CATEGORIES. He lived near Tardy Furniture at the time of the murders, and near where a gun that might have been the murder weapon was found. The investigative file contained no indication of what Hemphill said or why he was eliminated as a suspect. The podcast, which uncovered evidence used by Flowers to get his conviction overturned, spoke with witness Clemmie Fleming. The similarities between the crimes were striking. District Attorney Doug Evans argues that Flowers, enraged with losing his job, stole a gun out of a parked car at the Angelica garment factory, cooled his heels at home for an hour or so, then marched to the furniture store with murder in his eye, did the foul deed, and raced home. He has been behind bars ever since. Lab officials, however, say the gun never arrived and was never tested. - Law enforcement had interviewed a different suspect with a violent criminal history, Willie James Hemphill - a fact which was not disclosed to the defense. That might not be so if the whole world wasnt watching, but it is. James Mather is a British sound editor.