BRANDON – A convicted felon confessed to shooting a woman in the back of the head so there would be no witness to a daylight burglary at a home in rural Rankin County, a detective testified last week at a hearing for two men charged with murder.
Rankin County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Tim Lawless testified on Oct. 18, that Leslie Sheppard Doame, 36, was forced to kneel or lie down on the floor of her parents’ home before a blanket or shawl was put over her head and she was shot execution-style.
The testimony came during a preliminary hearing for Walter Burton, 36, and Jermaine Tyler, 30, both of Jackson. The men are charged with capital murder, which is defined in Mississippi as a killing that takes place during the commission of another felony. The underlying offense in this case is burglary. The men could face the death penalty, if convicted.
Burton also is charged with two counts of burglary stemming from unrelated break-ins in the Puckett area.
Doame was killed Sept. 27 at her parents’ house south of Brandon. Rankin County District Attorney Michael Guest said there was no car parked at the house, and it’s likely the burglars thought nobody was home.
Doame lived near her parents and was resting at their house after working a late shift. Her father had borrowed her car that day because his was in the shop.
Doame’s father came home from work and found her found face-down in a pool of blood, Lawless said.
Authorities say Burton and Tyler drove to Rankin County from Jackson in search of homes to rob in rural areas, thinking they’d be less likely to get caught. Rankin County authorities poured resources into the search for Doame’s attackers.
A break in the case came when a cellphone that was stolen during a previous burglary in the area was used to call Doame’s phone, which was missing along with a television and an air compressor.
Authorities said a fingerprint left at the scene of the previous burglary led police to a man named LeAndra Buck. Lawless said Buck told authorities that Tyler and Burton were responsible for Doame’s death and lured them into a police trap.
The two men were arrested when they drove up.
The suspected murder weapon, a 9 mm pistol, was confiscated from a vehicle Tyler was in when he was captured, Lawless said. The investigator said the round that killed Doame was found in the floor of her parents’ home and provided ballistic evidence. A .38 caliber pistol allegedly was found in the console of the car when the men were captured.
Tyler initially blamed Burton for the killing, but later said the slaying weighed “heavy on his heart” and confessed that he pulled the trigger, Lawless said.
“He said he shot her execution-style to the back of her head,” the detective testified.
Lawless testified that Burton first claimed he never went to the scene, but later changed his story to say he was there but didn’t participate in Doame’s slaying.
Tyler and Burton pleaded not guilty earlier this month. Attorneys were appointed to represent the men for Tuesday’s hearing, though they may not be the defendants’ lawyers for the duration of the case.
Burton’s attorney, Mike Scott, said the only things tying his client to the slaying are claims made by Tyler and Buck. He said Burton denied participating in the killing.
Tyler’s lawyer for the hearing, Bill Townsend, had no comment.
Guest, the district attorney, said a grand jury is likely to get the case in late November or early December.
Burton has a criminal record dating back to at least 1994, with convictions ranging from grand larceny to robbery, corrections officials say. In December 2002, Burton was sentenced to 10 years for armed robbery in Hinds County. He was released on probation on July 31 of this year.
Tyler is on probation for residential burglary after being sentenced to serve one year on a December 2010 conviction in Madison County. He was released in June.
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