Byrd

A Meridian judge ruled the murder case against Cortez Lakeith Byrd will move forward, citing two possible motives, knowledge of the crime and opportunity. 

The Meridian Police Department arrested and charged Byrd, 25, in the murder of Jamarkee Jones, found dead Nov. 27 in an abandoned apartment on the 1500 block of 28th Avenue.

Meridian’s City Court held a three-hour preliminary hearing Thursday to determine whether investigators had enough evidence to suggest Byrd may have committed the murder.

Byrd and Jones, both of Meridian, texted nearly daily previous to his death before Jones disappeared around Nov. 18. Byrd ceased communication with Jones after Jones’ disappearance even though Jones’ body had not yet been discovered.

In court, investigators discussed two possible motives Byrd may have had to kill Jones.

Approximately a month before Jones’ death, Jones and two associates signed life insurance policies listing Byrd as a beneficiary. Jones’ life policy was for $25,000, with a double indemnity in the case of accidental death making the policy worth $50,000. 

The policy was issued on Oct. 18, one month before Jones went missing.

Additionally, Jones’ father told investigators that Jones said Byrd had offered Jones $1,000 to stay quiet about the death of a girl who died on Whippoorwill Road.

Christa Maria White, 31, died on Sept. 1 on Whippoorwill Road.

Investigators said Jones told his father that he, Byrd and Diamonte Derron Scott, the man authorities charged with White’s murder, were all present at the death but he ran because he was scared.

Police executed a search warrant on the home of one of Byrd’s relatives on March 3, since he was apparently not living at his registered address. Byrd’s address listed in the Mississippi Sexual Offender Registry is approximately half a mile from where Jones’ body was discovered. 

Byrd was convicted in 2012 for statutory rape, according to court records.

At the relative’s home, police said they found Byrd’s clothing and belongings in what appeared to be his bedroom, along with a semiautomatic 9-millimeter caliber handgun. At the scene of Jones’ death, officers found 9-millimeter casings, investigators said.

The preliminary autopsy reported that Jones had been shot seven times, including his arms, legs and two shots to his head. Investigators said they believed the death occurred in the abandoned apartment where his body was found, formerly known as the Queen City Apartments. 

Investigators will present Byrd’s case to the next available grand jury for indictment. 

Byrd also faces two counts of possession of drugs while in possession of a firearm, one count of trafficking in a controlled substance and two counts of child endangerment, police said Monday.

The court reduced Jones’ bond from $1.5 million to $1 million.