The Tutwiler Police Department is offering a reward of $2,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of person or persons responsible for the February 2020 shooting death of Maggie Jefferson Wims.
Tutwiler Police Chief Marion Bedford said Thursday that there are no suspects and the trail has gone cold.
"It's been a year, and no one has come forward. No one knows anything," he noted. "We're hoping this reward will help jog somebody's memory."
Tutwiler Police Chief
Marion Bedford
Ms. Wims, 77, died Feb. 8, 2020, at a Memphis hospital after being shot two nights earlier as she lay asleep in her bed at 301 Handy St. in Tutwiler.
During the 2:30 a.m. shooting on Feb. 6, 2020, more than a half-dozen gunshots were fired at Ms. Wims’ residence from outside, with one crashing through her bedroom window and striking her in the side of the neck, said Bedford.
An adult grandson who lived with her and was uninjured in the shooting dialed 911. Ms. Wims was transported to Clarksdale, then Memphis, for medical attention.
Officials think that Ms. Wims may have been a victim of mistaken identity, explaining that the shooter or shooters may have targeted the wrong house.
One person of interest was questioned and released shortly after the shooting, but nothing has turned up since, the chief explained.
Tutwiler police have been assisted in their inquiry by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
Anyone who may have seen or heard something either that night or since, no matter how inconsequential they think it may be, is asked to contact the Tutwiler Police Department at 662-645-9476. The caller’s identity will be held in confidence, Bedford said.
