No suspects in brutal murder of Vaiden woman

Katrina Hemphill

By Monica Land

VAIDEN – Carroll County authorities are still looking for suspects in the brutal murder of a Vaiden woman in her home last month. Forty-seven-year-old Katrina Hemphill was found at her residence on County Road 264 during the early morning hours of Dec. 13.

Katrina Hemphill

Carroll County Sheriff Jerry Carver said Hemphill’s body was found on the floor just inside the glass doors in the rear of her home. She had severe trauma to her upper body and head. While autopsy results have not confirmed what kind of weapon was used in the murder, officials believe Hemphill was stabbed to death.

Carver said a family member discovered Hemphill about 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 13 after her husband was unable to reach her by telephone the night before.

“He was working in North Mississippi or Tennessee, somewhere on the edge doing construction,” Carver said. “He started calling her the night of the 12th and he tried most of the night and got really concerned when she didn’t answer the phone.”

Carver said a female relative went to the Hemphill home and saw Hemphill on the floor. The authorities were called and emergency personnel were among the first on the scene, Carver said.

“They saw what it was,” Carver said referring to the murder scene, “and they didn’t move anything. So we got the coroner and the investigators down there.”

Carver said his deputies had to first control the swelling crowd that had gathered at the home and secure the crime scene for the crime lab.

“In the meantime, we looked around to see if we could find anything that would give us an indication of what happened,” he said.

Carver said nothing else in the home was disturbed with the exception of the immediate area in which Hemphill was found.

He said Hemphill works as a floor secretary at Greenwood-Leflore Hospital and had possibly just gotten off work. Her vehicle was still in the driveway.

Carver said that although the investigation is ongoing, they believe Hemphill was murdered during the evening hours on Dec. 12. He further said there have been a rash of break-ins in the Vaiden area, but he could not verify if robbery was a motive in the killing.

“Nothing was missing,” he said. “The only thing in disarray was right where the body was. Everything else was I tact. So right now, we don’t really have anything and no solid suspects. But we hope something from the crime lab will point us in the right direction.”

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations is assisting with this case and anyone with information about the crime is urged to contact the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department at 662.237.9283 of CrimeStoppers at 1.800.222.TIPS.

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