Elderly man killed in Perry

Two Georgia teens were captured last weekend and charged in connection with the shooting death of a 77-year-old man in Perry.

Officers of the Perry Police Department arrived on the scene near Mason Terrace Apartments after receiving a late night “shots fired” call around 11:15 on Saturday. There, they found the body of the victim who has been identified as Willie Jacox. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses informed police that two individuals—a male and a female—were spotted walking hurriedly away from the area where the crime had taken place. From the information received, the responding officers were able to locate the suspects who were later identified as 19-year-old Cornelius Reyshawn Wallace Murray of Americus, Georgia and 18-year-old Natajah Sincere Culpepper, a resident of Centerville, Georgia.

It has been determined that both subjects were involved in the homicide, and each was charged accordingly. Murray was charged with murder and Culpepper with murder-party to a crime. The details surrounding what led to the shooting death of Jacox, who reportedly resided at 110 Ridge Court in Centerville, has not been released. Murray and Culpepper are currently being detained at the Houston County Detention Center.

According to Captain Heath Dykes of the Perry Police Department, it has been determined that the suspects knew their victim; however, how they are connected is still under investigation.

“We do know for a fact that they are not family, but we do know that they knew who the guy was,” Dykes said.

The captain said early indications lean toward robbery as the motive that led to Jacox’s death, but until the investigation is complete, authorities will not be certain of the full details.

Dykes did clarify that the shooting, though it happened in the vicinity of Mason Terrace Apartments, did not actually happen on the grounds of the apartments. “I know there were some questions about that,” he said, “but it was actually in the roadway of Mason Terrace Road. The victim was inside his vehicle in the middle of the road and not in any of the apartments or on any of the apartment’s properties.

Anyone with any additional information in reference to this case is asked to contact Detective Quridsha Gilliam at 478-988-2834 or Captain Heath Dykes at 478-988-2822.

HHJ News