Michael Wayne Devaughn, a suspect indicted earlier this week in Starkville’s infamous 1990 Labor Day murders, pleaded not guilty to his charges during a Wednesday afternoon arraignment in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
Devaughn, 51, is facing charges of capital murder and sexual battery. He is accused of stabbing 65-year-old Betty Jones to death and sexually assaulting 81-year-old Kathryn Crigler, who later died in the hospital from the injuries she sustained in the attack.
A DNA profile was developed from a rape kit performed on Crigler and ultimately led to Devaughn’s arrest in October 2018.
The incident, which has gained national attention and was a cold case for nearly 30 years, happened in Crigler’s home on Highway 82 East on Sept. 3, 1990.
Devaughn, of Rienzi, was in the Tishomingo County Jail on drug charges at the time of his arrest.
Mississippi 16th Circuit Judge Lee Coleman denied Devaughn bond on both charges during Wednesday’s arraignment. District Attorney Scott Colom requested no bond be set, due to the severity of the case and that Devaughn is “clearly a flight risk.”
Devaughn’s attorney, Mark Williamson, asked for a “reasonable bond” during the arraignment.
After the arraignment, Colom told The Dispatch he’s not made a decision on whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty. Capital murder, which in this case is murder committed while in the act of committing sexual battery, is punishable by death, life in prison or life in prison without parole, according to Mississippi Code section 97-3-21.
“The thing about the death penalty is you really have to sit down and talk to the victim’s family about that decision and listen to their concerns,” Colom said. “I don’t want to announce a decision until I’ve given them an opportunity to evaluate their opinion on it. Ultimately it’s my decision, and I’ll do what I think is fair for the district in making sure the death penalty is applied in a way that’s fair.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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