Interview of Picayune fugitives leads investigators to a body in the woods, murder arrest
An investigation into the death of Willie Ray “Chill” Jones has led to a third arrest and the discovery of a body deep in the woods of Hancock County, believed to be the remains of the Jones, who had been missing since July 6.
Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage told the Sun Herald on Saturday that he is sending the body, found late Friday afternoon, to the medical examiner’s office in Pearl for identification. Turnage said it could be up to two weeks before the body is identified because of a staffing shortage in the Pearl office.
“Everything’s lining up for this to be him, but we’ve just got to scientifically confirm through DNA that it’s him,” Turnage said. He said he has met with the Jones family, who held a candlelight vigil for him Wednesday evening attended by 200 people.
Austin Brookshire, 18, of Rankin County has been charged with first-degree murder in Jones’ death, said Marc Ogden, chief investigator for the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department. Ogden said he could not discuss further details about Brookshire because the investigation is ongoing.
The break in the case came after Picayune and Pearl River County detectives traveled to Pueblo, Colo.,, where they interviewed Dustin Gray, 24, and wife, Erica Gray, 21, of Picayune, Ogden said.
Dustin Gray was one of the last people to see the 28-year-old Jones before he disappeared July 6.
Grays will be extradited to Picayune
He and his wife had been identified as people of interest in the case and had been missing since at least Monday. The U.S. Marshal’s service took the Grays into custody in Pueblo on an unrelated warrant of possessing a stolen firearm and arrested them around the time the vigil started Wednesday in Picayune, Ogden said.
They are being extradited to Pearl River County on the felony firearms charge out of Picayune.
Jones and Dustin Gray had known one another since high school, according to Gray’s father, Picayune attorney James L. “Jim” Gray.
Jim Gray’s law office burned to the ground last week and he had been receiving threats on social media after his son and daughter-in-law were identified as persons of interest in Jones’ disappearance.
Gray told the Sun Herald that he believes people thought he was trying to help his son evade law enforcement, but that was not the case. The attorney said he knows and cares for the Jones family.
Homicide case changes jurisdictions
Gray said he learned after the disappearance of his son and daughter-in-law that his son had taken his car to a relative’s house, asking that the back seat be changed out. The relative wouldn’t do it, Jim Gray said. The back seat, he said, was covered in blood, which he reported to law enforcement authorities.
The body found in the woods was about two miles from Pearl River County, said Hancock County Coroner Jim Faulk, who was on the scene and turned the body over to Turnage.
The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office is in charge of the investigation. The Picayune Police Department’s detective division uncovered information that put the homicide in the county and called the sheriff’s office.
“We met with them and came to Colorado together to interview Dustin and Erica,” Ogden said. “During our interview, it was learned that the homicide did take place in Pearl River County, not the city, so Pearl River County assumed jurisdiction over the case.”
“Because of the Picayune detective division’s hard work, they uncovered information that led us to get involved.”
Staff Writers Margaret Baker, Isabelle Taft and Alyssa Newton contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 18, 2020 at 11:28 AM.
