JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — Jackson Police Chief Lindsey Horton said two police officers responding to a 911 call in which a woman had been killed mishandled the case.
Jackson police received a 911 call from the home at 3:23 am on Tuesday about a prowler.
Horton said at a news conference Wednesday that if officers would have walked around the house, they would have seen the house had been broken into and they could have found 67 year-old Helen Harrion earlier.
“I am not pleased with it, and it is a defining moment for us, a teachable moment,” Horton said.
“While we did a good investigation, we obviously did not do one to the extent that we covered the entire property. We know that now and I do think our officers could have done a better job.
“We will be putting a system in place so this won’t re-occur,” Horton said.
One of Harrion’s family members discovered her body behind her home about 11 hours later Tuesday.
Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart says Harrion had been beaten, strangled and shot in the face.
Investigators continue to search for a suspect or suspects in the case.
