JACKSON, Miss — A grand jury is set to hear the case against the man who investigators said went on a deadly shooting rampage last week, killing six people that included his ex-wife and stepfather in a tiny rural community in northern Mississippi.
This comes after authorities announced an additional charge against Richard Dale Crum, 52, who was jailed Friday hours after carrying out the shootings at multiple locations in Tate County, near the Tennessee state line.
In a statement Monday night, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance said that Richard Crum was also charged with one count of capital murder for the death of his ex-wife, Debra McNally Crum.
Richard Crum had already been charged with one count of first-degree murder for the death of Chris Eugene Boyce, 59, a Florida resident who was shot and killed while sitting in a pickup truck outside a convenience store in Arkabutla.
Crum's initial appearance was held at the Tate County Jail Monday due to "security concerns" connected with the case, Lance said. The judge ordered Richard Crum to be held without bond and set his preliminary hearing for Thursday morning at the Tate County Justice Court. At that hearing, the judge turned the case over to a grand jury.
"The burden of proof today was to show probable cause that a crime was committed and Richard Crum committed the crime. We knew we could do that. We did that through Sheriff Lance, Sheriff Lance testified to two of our three crime scenes. We have not put out any information in regards for four of our victims, however those charges will be pursued," said District Attorney Jay Hale of 17th Circuit Court District.
Besides Boyce and Crum's ex-wife, authorities identified the others killed as Charles Manuel, 76; John Rorie, 59; George McCain, 73; and Lynda McCain, 78. As of Tuesday, Crum had not yet been charged in the shooting deaths of Manuel, Rorie and the McCains. George McCain was Crum's stepfather and Lynda was McCain's sister.
Norma Washington, Boyce's aunt, told The Associated Press that Boyce and his brother had been in town cleaning up a property they inherited from their deceased uncle. It was unclear whether Richard Crum knew either of the brothers.
The fatal shooting of 60-year-old Debra Crum in the home she shared with boyfriend George Drane in Coldwater came a little more than four years after Richard and Debra Crum's divorce. Drane said the two had been separated for five or six years before they divorced. Drane said he hadn't seen Richard Crum in seven or eight years.
"I thought it was a random act. I don't know about the rest of it," Drane said. "He left us alone. We left him alone."
Drane said Richard Crum busted into their home and smashed him in the head with the butt of a gun before shooting Debra Crum in the head.
Richard Crum went to the home after he killed Boyce at the convenience store in nearby Arkabutla where, according to the sheriff, he had shot Boyce.
Ashley McKinney, a 38-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee, dated Debra Crum's son, Sid Furniss, when the two were teens and said Richard Crum had displayed signs he was troubled.
After the divorce, Debra Crum grew uncomfortable working her overnight shifts at the Waffle House restaurant alone, unsure what her ex-husband would do because of his troubling behavior, and asked McKinney to keep her company, McKinney said.
McKinney said Richard Crum largely worked odd jobs, like cutting firewood.
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Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg.