Remains Identified as William Self, 55, Bay St. Louis, MS [MAN CHD W/CAPITAL MURDER]

[Faith]

Police find human remains behind Bay St. Louis home

By WLOX Staff

BAY ST. LOUIS, MS (WLOX) - Police in Bay St. Louis are investigating a grisly discovery this evening. Human remains were found Tuesday in a burn pile behind a home in the 800 block of Washington Street.

The state crime lab and forensic pathologist Dr. Paul Magary from New Orleans are on the scene assisting in the investigation. Authorities are combing the wooded area for evidence.

Police have released few details about what was found, but did say a man who lived in the area was reported missing about four days ago. Further investigation will determine if there's any connection.
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=10064129

[Faith]

Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2009

Body found in Bay St. Louis neighborhood

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BAY ST. LOUIS — Police are investigating the scene where a body was discovered in a neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.

The body was reported behind a house in the 800 block of Washington Street.

Hancock County Coroner Norma Stiglet said no more information was immediately available, but that the medical examiner and investigators from the state crime lab were summoned to the scene.

The Sun Herald will update this developing story as more information becomes available.

http://www.sunherald.com/newsupdates/story/1225848.html

[Faith]

photos

SunHerald.com
Body found in Bay St. Louis

http://www.sunherald.com/414/gallery/1226464-a1226217-t3.html

[Faith]

Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2009

Man charged with capital murder in case of remains found (Updated 1 p.m.)
By J.R. WELSH - jrwelsh@sunherald.com

http://media.sunherald.com/smedia/2009/03/25/13/574-christopher-smith.embedded.prod_affiliate.77.jpg
Christopher Smith


BAY ST. LOUIS -- Quick police work in the case of remains found in a neighborhood Tuesday resulted this morning in the arrest of a man for capital murder.

City police said they had charged Christopher Smith, 28, of West Benton Street in Bayside Park, in the killing of 55-year-old William Self, who had been reported missing from his Washington street neighborhood by a relative Tuesday morning.

Assistant Police Chief Mike Denardo said local and state officers found what are believed to be human remains during a search of the victim's neighborhood after receiving the missing person report. The remains are now being examined at the state crime lab in Jackson.



City police and investigators from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation combed an area in the 800 block of Washington Street where the remains were found, working throughout Tuesday night. Smith then was arrested and charged Wednesday morning.

Smith, reportedly an acquaintance of the victim, had been questioned in the case as the crime scene examination unfolded. “They got an arrest within 12 hours, which in a homicide is unheard of,” Denardo said.

Further details will be released as the case unfolds, he said. Bay St. Louis Municipal Court Judge George Lipscomb ordered Smith held under $100,000 bond. He will make an initial court appearance this evening.

http://www.sunherald.com/pageone/story/1227641.html

[packy]

Kudos to them for the quick work. Hopefully there will be a confirmation of the remains soon.

[Faith]

Man arrested, charged with Bay St. Louis murder

Posted: March 25, 2009 02:14 PM

Updated: March 25, 2009 02:35 PM

BAY ST. LOUIS, MS (WLOX) - Police in Bay St. Louis have arrested 28-year-old Christopher Smith and charged him with murder in the death of 55-year-old William Self.

Human remains were found Tuesday in a burn pile behind a home in the 800 block of Washington Street. The state crime lab and forensic pathologist Dr. Paul Magary from New Orleans assisted in the investigation.

Hancock County reporter Al Showers talked with the Rick Self, brother of the victim.

"I went looking for him myself yesterday. I found some evidence that I took to the police department," Rick Self said. "They came out and did a search. That's when they found my brothers' remains, and this morning told me he had been murdered. And they have the man in custody. They (Police) said he did confess"

Even though Police say Smith confessed, Rick Self still has a lot of questions.

"I just want to know why. I just want to know why he did what he did because my brother was a very kind hearted person (and) did not have an enemy in this world. Everybody liked him. I just don't understand why somebody would want to do anything to him," Rick Self said.

According to the police, it was a terrible murder.

Rick Self said, "According to what the police have told me he used a machete to kill my brother, and then left him laying on the ground, went back later chopped him up and then set him on fire. It's the most gruesome thing I've ever heard of and nobody, nobody deserves to die like that. Nobody"

The suspect, Smith, lived down the street. William Self apparently met him about six months ago.

"They had parties together and hung out together for several months, and I had thought they had just become buddies. I was in total shock," Rick Self said. "I didn't realize the man was capable of anything like this; he never gave any indication of being a violent person."

Rick Self is grieving the loss of his brother.

"It's hard to loose somebody to a natural death, but to have somebody taken from you for no good reason, it's hard. It just sucks the life out of everything and everybody and everything around you," Rick Self said. "He needs to be put away for the rest of his life."

The police are continuing their investigation.
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=10070167&Call=Email&Format=HTML

[Amusedtdth]

My condolances to William's family. Rick Self is absolutely right, no one deserves to die like that no matter who you are or what you've done in life. I truly hope he gets the justice he so rightly deserves.
RIP William ~ :1222423:

[Faith]

BODY CUT UP AND BURNED
Suspect in custody

BAY ST. LOUIS — A suspect police said already has spent 11 of his 28 years in prison appeared in court here Wednesday night, charged with killing a man, dismembering the body with a machete, and then setting the victim afire in a wooded area last weekend.

Earlier in the day, police said they had arrested 28-year-old Christopher Joseph Smith for the death of William Terry Self, 54. Self is believed to have been killed last Saturday or Sunday, said Bay Deputy Police Chief Mike Denardo.

A search for Self’s body was launched after the victim’s brother came to the police department early Tuesday, reporting his brother missing and carrying a bloody pack of cigarettes he had found in the woods off Washington Street. They were the same brand William Self smoked.

http://media.sunherald.com/smedia/2009/03/25/23/234-20090326-000714-pic-117410288.embedded.prod_affiliate.77.jpg
j.r. welsh/sun herald Murder suspect Christopher Smith at Bay St. Louis Police Department headquarters Wednesday morning.



Originally, police announced that Smith was charged with capital murder. By Wednesday afternoon, that was changed to a simple murder charge, Denardo said. He said a machete believed to have been used to dismember the body was recovered.

“All day long, people have been saying, ‘stuff like this doesn’t happen here,’ ” Denardo said. “Unfortunately, it happens everywhere.”

Wednesday evening, Municipal Court Judge George Lipscomb delayed a preliminary hearing for Smith at the request of city Prosecutor Donald Rafferty. The continuance until next Wednesday was requested to allow time for a public defender to be appointed by the Circuit Court.

The judge also agreed with Rafferty’s request that bond for Smith be raised from an initial $100,000 to $500,000. The original bond, which was set upon Smith’s arrest, “is just not enough for the nature of this charge,” Rafferty said.

Self lived with his brother in the 800 block of Washington Street, near where his remains were found by police. Smith was from Louisiana, but had been living in Bayside Park. Previously, he had lived in a FEMA trailer on the Washington Street property near where the killing occurred, Denardo said.

He said Smith and his minor girlfriend, whose identity was not disclosed, had recently befriended Self, and the three would drink beer in the woods off Washington Street. No motive for the killing was immediately announced.

The case began Tuesday morning when Self’s brother, Rick Self, came to the police department to report his brother missing. Patrol officer Tina Ladner took a report from the man, then notified Detective Sgt. Joe Kepfer when Rick Self produced the pack of cigarettes. The package, and even cigarettes inside, appeared to bear traces of blood, Denardo said.




Story: SUNHERALD TV: Body found in Bay St. Louis neighborhood (http://www.sunherald.com/sunheraldtv/story/1226079.html)
Gallery: Body found in Bay St. Louis (http://www.sunherald.com/414/gallery/1226464.html)


Police immediately went to the woods on Washington Street, where they located a burn pile containing remains. Pathologist Paul McGarry and Hancock Coroner Norma Stiglet were summoned, and the parts were identified as human remains.


At that point, Denardo said, “We went from a missing person report to a major crime scene.”


Experts from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation later arrived and began an intensive search alongside Bay police.


Meanwhile, patrol division members canvassed the neighborhood, talking with residents. Those interviews led them to Smith.


The search of the property continued throughout Tuesday night. During that process, Smith was questioned repeatedly, and then arrested, officers said.



Denardo said Smith already has served about 11 years in state and federal penitentiaries, on convictions ranging from burglary to aggravated assault.

Another search occurred Wednesday afternoon, when a Gulfport dive team came to aid police in a search at Bayou LaCroix. That search “obtained more evidence” in the case, Denardo said, but he declined to elaborate.

Wednesday evening, the suspect sat in Municipal Court, still wearing sneakers, a T-shirt and bluejean shorts.



But he also wore handcuffs and leg manacles and was bound for the Pearl River County jail until his next court hearing.


By then, Denardo and many of his weary police officers had worked more than 24 hours straight. He gave praise to them and the state crime scene experts.


“This is one of the most gruesome crime scenes we’ve had in the area,” Denardo said. “It’s hard to believe that one human being could treat another human being that way.



http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/1229024.html

[Faith]

It takes a sick sick person to do this. :madranting94dp:

[Faith]

http://wlox.images.worldnow.com/images/10070167_BG2.jpg
William Self (Photo courtesy Rick Self)

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=10070167

[sarahhod]

Teen also charged in death

By J.R. WELSH - jrwelsh@sunherald.com


BAY ST. LOUIS — A 17-year-old woman and an older man are the latest suspects arrested in the death of a victim authorities say was killed with a machete and set afire before some of his remains were placed in plastic bags and dumped into a bayou.
Authorities said Tuesday that Jamie Welch, 17, and Oliver Gordon Sayers, 39, had been charged with accessory after the fact in the killing of William Terry Self, 54. Self is believed to have been killed the weekend of March 21 in a wooded area off Washington Street, near his home.
Welch and Sayers each have been released on $25,000 bonds set by Municipal Court Judge George Lipscomb. If convicted, they could get maximum sentences of five years in prison and $1,000 fines.


http://media.sunherald.com/smedia/2009/03/31/23/232-20090401-003130-pic-401983165.embedded.prod_affiliate.77.jpg (http://media.sunherald.com/smedia/2009/03/31/23/704-20090401-003130-pic-401983165.standalone.prod_affiliate.77.jpg) http://media.sunherald.com/smedia/2009/03/31/23/407-20090401-003130-pic-859071812.embedded.prod_affiliate.77.jpg (http://media.sunherald.com/smedia/2009/03/31/23/252-20090401-003130-pic-859071812.standalone.prod_affiliate.77.jpg) (http://media.sunherald.com/smedia/2009/03/31/23/315-20090401-003129-pic-754377364.standalone.prod_affiliate.77.jpg) (http://media.sunherald.com/smedia/2009/03/31/23/839-20090401-003129-pic-939665235.standalone.prod_affiliate.77.jpg)


The Tuesday after Self was killed, police began investigating his disappearance when the victim’s brother reported him missing. That investigation led to the discovery of body parts and the subsequent arrest of Christopher Joseph Smith, 28, for allegedly killing Self with a machete. Smith now is being held on a murder charge under $500,000 bond.
Welch and Sayers allegedly looked on as Smith disposed of portions of the victim’s body wrapped in plastic garbage bags, said Bay Police Chief Tom Burleson.
Welch was Smith’s girlfriend, officials said. Although no firm motive for the killing has been announced, police said the murder may have occurred after a disagreement between Smith and the victim over the young woman. Officers said Smith already had a long criminal history and previous arrests on charges including aggravated assault and burglary.
All three suspects had lived in Bayside Park, but Smith and Welch often spent time drinking beer in a wooded area in the 800 Block of Washington Street. It was there they became acquainted with Self several months ago, Burleson said.
Police say Smith allegedly used a machete to kill Self and then set the body on fire in a burn pile in the woods. When the entire body did not burn, Smith allegedly placed the victim’s upper torso and head in plastic bags and dropped them in Bayou LaCroix, investigators said. Those remains were discovered in the bayou last Wednesday during a search by a Gulfport Fire Department dive team.
Burleson said Sayers became involved when Smith asked for help in disposing of the bags. Sayers agreed to drive Smith and Welch north to the bayou, police said.
Once there, Sayers “watched Smith throw black plastic garbage bags, which contained the remains, into the water,” Burleson said.
“We do not believe he knew what was in the bags at the time, but once he became aware of this case, he should have come forward and told us what he knew and when he knew it.”
As for Smith’s girlfriend, Burleson said, Welch “lied in her written and verbal statements to investigators and attempted to conceal material facts directly related to the murder and disposal of some of the victim’s remains.”
He said it remains unclear whether Welch witnessed the killing. “We know she went back to clean up. We don’t know for sure if she was there for the actual murder,” he said.
The accessory charges came after consultation with Chris Fisher, an assistant district attorney and lead prosecutor in Hancock County Circuit Court. Although Welch originally mislead police because she feared Smith, once he was arrested, “she had no reason to continue lying,” Burleson said.
For Welch and Sayers, the next stop will be Bay St. Louis Municipal Court, where they are scheduled to appear April 8. Smith is being held in Pearl River County Jail. He is being represented by Bay St. Louis attorney Todd Thriffiley.



http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/1242667.html

[Amusedtdth]

5 yrs and $1,000 in fines? They are just a guilty in my book...
moo