SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (AP) - A 23-year-old man has been arrested for killing a retired railroad worker in Southaven’s first homicide since 2010.
Karl Justin Walls was charged Thursday with capital murder in the death of 72-year-old Johnny F. Moore. He’s jailed without bond and also faces armed robbery charges.
The Commercial Appeal reports (https://bit.ly/1hC92JZ) Moore was found dead inside his home Tuesday evening. Police stopped by to check on him when a friend said he had not seen him in a few days. Officers found blood in the carport. Moore’s body was found inside the home, and his 2001 GMC Jimmy sports-utility vehicle was missing.
Moore’s body is undergoing an autopsy, although WMC-TV (https://bit.ly/Rv9T91 ) reported that he appeared to have been beaten to death. Investigators believe Walls was trying to rob Moore.
Walls was arrested Wednesday in Water Valley, Mississippi, after a resident spotted Moore’s vehicle at a gas station and called police.
Police said they believe Walls, also a Southaven resident, was traveling to his father’s home in Yalobusha County. He was indicted earlier on charges of automobile burglary and receiving stolen property, and faces contempt of court charges for skipping 2013 court dates in that case.
Moore’s friends remembered him as a community volunteer and church member in Southaven, and leaving left flowers and crosses in his yard.
“He’d gone through our citizens’ police academy,” Southaven Police Lt. Mark Little told WATN-TV (https://bit.ly/SHXhfI). “He was well known throughout the station. He was an outgoing type person and people were familiar with him throughout the city.”
An 86-year-old Southaven resident, Georgie McKee, was beaten in her home during a robbery in December.
Walls’ next court date is Wednesday.
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, https://www.commercialappeal.com
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