Exclusive: Suspect confesses to C-L reporter; 8 dead, including deputy
Therese Apel , The Clarion-Ledger Published 6:03 a.m. CT May 28, 2017 | Updated 12 minutes ago
Homicide suspect Willie Corey Godbolt told The Clarion-Ledger he intended to commit "suicide by cop" after a shooting rampage in Brookhaven and Bogue Chitto that left eight including a Lincoln County deputy and two boys.
"I ain't fit to live, not after what I done," a handcuffed Godbolt, 35, who had gotten into an argument with his estranged wife over their children, told The Clarion-Ledger.
Authorities from multiple agencies took Godbolt into custody in Brookhaven Sunday morning. He has been charged with one count of capital murder and seven counts of first degree murder.
Willie Corey Godbolt sits handcuffed Sunday morning following a shooting rampage that left eight people dead, including a Lincoln County deputy. Therese Apel/The Clarion-Ledger
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain, in a news release, said the shooting spree began at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday with a domestic call at 2871 Lee Drive in Bogue Chitto.
Godbolt told The Clarion-Ledger that he had gone to that residence off Lee Road in Bogue Chitto in order to talk about his children. At some point neighbors called police, and that's when the deputy arrived to try to calm the situation.
Four bodies — three females and Lincoln County Deputy William Durr, 36 — were recovered there. The second crime scene was located at 1658 Coopertown Road in Brookhaven. The bodies of the two juvenile males were located there.
As authorities, including several employees of the coroner's office, processed the scene on Lee Road, suddenly the call echoed out over every law enforcement radio on site: "The suspect is at a residence at 312 East Lincoln Road. He has opened fire."
Members of multiple agencies left the Bogue Chitto scene and arrived on East Lincoln as Godbolt attempted to flee the scene on foot.
As deputies held him on the ground, Godbolt talked freely about his family and how he said he had just wanted to "live and let live, and they wouldn't let me do that."
The bodies of a male and a female were recovered at that location.
Strain said authorities are waiting on the notification of next of kin before releasing the names of the other seven victims.
Godbolt is accused of a killing spree that included 8 people in Lincoln County late Saturday and early Sunday. Therese Apel/The Clarion-Ledger
Durr was a two-year veteran of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and a four- year veteran of the Brookhaven Police Department.
"My pain wasn't designed for him. He was just there," Godbolt said of the deputy. "We was talking about me trying to take the children home ... somebody called the officer ... that's what they do, they intervene. It cost him his life. I'm sorry."
When asked what's next for him, Godbolt said, "Death ... Suicide by cop was my intention. I ain't fit to live. Not after what I've done."
Godbolt, 35, of Bogue Chitto, who had fled from police, told The Clarion-Ledger, as he was sitting on the ground, handcuffed, that he did it because he loved his wife and children and he loves Bogue Chitto.
The stepfather-in-law, Vincent Mitchell, told The Associated Press that Godbolt's wife and their two children had been staying at his Bogue Chitto home for about three weeks after she left her husband.
After the sheriff's deputy arrived at the house, Godbolt looked as if he were about to leave, then reached into his back pocket, pulled a gun and opened fire, Mitchell said.
Mitchell said he escaped along with Godbolt's wife. But he said three family members were killed in his home: his wife, Barbara Mitchell; her daughter, Toccarra May; and the wife's sister, Brenda May.
"I'm devastated. It don't seem like it's real," Mitchell said.
Officers from multiple jurisdictions arrested Cory
Officers from multiple jurisdictions arrested Cory Godbolt on East Lincoln Road this morning. He is accused of killing eight people, including a Lincoln County deputy. (Photo: Therese Apel/ The Clarion-Ledger)
As authorities held Godbolt on the ground, he was saying he had been shot by someone inside the home. He was treated at the scene for the gunshot, then transported to a Jackson hospital.
Gov. Phil Bryant issued a statement asking for prayers in the aftermath of the tragedy.
“Every day, the men and women who wear the badge make some measure of sacrifice to protect and serve their communities. Too often, we lose one of our finest. I thank the law enforcement agencies involved for their hard work,” Bryant said.
Family members at the Lee Road home Sunday afternoon said they had had enough exposure and politely declined further interview.
Other agencies involved in the case, Strain said in the release, include the Mississippi Highway Patrol, Bureau of Narcotics, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Pike, Walthall, Franklin, Copiah, Lawrence, Amite counties sheriff’s departments, and the Brookhaven Police Department.
This is, to the memory of most involved, the largest crime spree in Lincoln County history.
"Just this year we've had a quadruple homicide in Yazoo County, a quadruple homicide in the city of Jackson, a quadruple homicide in Lauderdale County, and now eight people killed in one shooting spree here in Lincoln County," Strain said. "You think you've seen it all, then another day comes along."
Lincoln County has about 34,000 people. The county seat, Brookhaven, has about 14,000 people, and Bogue Chitto, an unincorporated town of about 533, is about 10 miles south of Brookhaven.
Contact Therese Apel at 601-961-7236 or
tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
