Murder-suicide confirmed in deaths of couple and child in Lee County

Destiny Montana McCord

By Monica Land

TUPELO – A coroner has confirmed that two adults and a 13-year-old girl found shot to death in a home in Lee County Tuesday were the victims of a murder-suicide. The bodies of 55-year-old Wiley Young, 46-year-old Danica McCord and her daughter, Destiny McCord were discovered around 8:30 a.m. March 26.

Destiny Montana McCord

Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said an officer with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks arrived at the residence on County Road 49 and found the victims after efforts to contact them had failed.

Unconfirmed reports said the officer was Young’s adult son.

After investigating the scene, Johnson attempted to set the minds of neighbors in the quiet Macedonia Community at ease by telling them the murders seemed to be “contained to the house” and that there were no signs of a break-in at the residence.

At that time, Johnson fell short of calling the tragedy a murder-suicide until that fact was confirmed by Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green on Wednesday.

The bodies were found in the kitchen and living room of the residence.

Green said it appears Young shot McCord – his live-in girlfriend – and Destiny in the head before turning a .45 caliber handgun on himself.

Danica Gifford McCord (Facebook photo)

Young also shot himself in the head. The weapon was recovered at the scene, authorities said.

Counselors at Destiny’s school said grief counselors have been on hand this week to help students cope with the popular 7th grader’s death.

“Our school family is wounded right now. We’ve lost a wonderful sweet, beautiful young child,” Guntown Middle School Principal Steven Havens told WTVA.

According to her obituary, Destiny was an honor student and loved hanging out with her friends and playing basketball.

Havens held back tears as he remembered the youngster.

“They can’t believe she’s gone. They want answers. And we will never have answers. They want the pain to go away and there are no words to take that pain away,” Havens said.

On her Facebook page, Danica McCord said she lost “the love of [her] life”, Anthony McCord III, Destiny’s

father on March 16, 2010.

Funeral services for Danica and Destiny have been set for Saturday, March 30 in Saltillo.

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