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December 29, 2009

Newton Co. officials remain tight-lipped

By Brian Livingston / staff writer The Meridian Star Tue Dec 29, 2009, 11:21 PM CST

Criminal investigations, especially those that involve murder, are as prickly as a porcupine.

The reason: law enforcement officials don't want to give away too much too soon so they can get the perpetrator in custody as soon as possible, officials said.

Investigators and detectives remain quiet in an attempt to build their case and not spook their primary suspect or suspects. That is the case in Newton County with the ongoing murder investigation of Bobby Gregory.

"There is not a great deal we can say at this time," said Newton County Sheriff Jackie Knight Tuesday afternoon. "We don't want to say something that will hurt our case and set us back."

Gregory's body was found in his mobile home Dec. 14 at about 1 p.m. on Allgood Road between Decatur and Conehatta. At first authorities with the Newton County Sheriff's Department thought they were conducting a death investigation involving someone who had died of natural causes. But when two days later they received the preliminary autopsy report back from the State Medical Examiners Office the case suddenly took on a different meaning.

""We didn't see the gunshot wounds when we found Mr. Gregory," said Knight. "We had an autopsy performed on Mr.Gregory and it did show that he had been shot twice in the head with a small caliber weapon."

The fact local authorities didn't find any outward appearance of gunshot wounds or other causes of death is not that unusual. Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler said it is easier than you think to overlook something when dealing with a dead body.

"This isn't TV," said Cobler, who spent 22 years as an assistant coroner and the last six as coroner. "Not all of these instances are as cut and dry as you see on TV. There are times when there isn't anything obvious and then you get the report back from the medical examiners and your like, 'You're kidding me! He was shot!'"

In one recent case Cobler said authorities had everything they needed to determine the cause of death they couldn't find a bullet hole. Cobler said when he received the autopsy report back from Jackson it stated the bullet hole was just inside the hairline of the victim.

"We missed it but the medical examiner found it," Cobler said. "It just happens."

Knight said they've yet to charge anyone in the case, but they do have some persons of interest.

"We are working every day on this case and trying to not leave any stone unturned," Knight said. "Sometimes these things just take time."

If you have any information concerning this case, you may call the Newton County Sheriff's Office at (601) 635-2101.

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