CLAY COUNTY — A suspect in the murder of a 16-year-old from Houston was moved to Clay County Detention Center on Wednesday after evidence pointed to the crime happening in Una.
LaBrandon Tumblin, 19, of Aberdeen, was arrested by Tupelo Police Department on Tuesday in conjunction with an investigation that included Clay and Chickasaw County sheriff’s offices.
Tumblin is accused of fatally shooting Denasia McGregory on Monday night, stuffing her body in the trunk of her car, then driving it to Tupelo. In a press conference held Thursday at Clay County Sheriff’s Office, both Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott and District Attorney Scott Colom confirmed Tumblin and the victim knew each other, but they are still investigating the nature of the relationship. The motive is also still under investigation.
Tumblin has been charged with first-degree murder, felony possession of a firearm and felony obstruction of justice, Scott said.
McGregory’s parents tracked her vehicle Tuesday morning to a day care center on the 100 block of Stone Street, where Tupelo Police officers met them and located the body in the trunk of the car, Scott said. McGregory had suffered multiple gunshots fired from a semi-automatic rifle.
Tumblin was arrested in the same area Tuesday morning after ditching the vehicle and holding two women and one minor hostage, TPD said in a press release issued Wednesday.
Authorities also determined the crime took place in Una, where Tumblin has family.
“After questioning (Tumblin) and the facts and evidence that we have, he will be charged this afternoon (Thursday),” Scott said. “With Tupelo Police Department and Chickasaw County assisting us, it really helped us as far as poring through the evidence that we had. It was a whole lot of collaborative effort to get this done. We’re now meeting with our district attorney’s office because they are going to eventually prosecute this case. So we want to make sure that we give them everything we can.”
Colom said the first-degree murder charge could be upgraded to a capital murder, which is murder committed in the act of other felonies.
He added there could also be an additional charge of a sexual crime, but he could not speak further on that until an autopsy confirms.
McGregory’s body was sent to Pearl for analysis and investigators are waiting on the results of that report.
“Because of some of the crimes that were committed against this 16-year-old girl … it’s a very heinous crime,” Colom said. “One of the worst I’ve seen in the eight years I’ve been a DA. Thankfully, the sheriff’s office did an outstanding job with investigating this, including some complex jurisdictional issues. As we do with every murder case, my office consulted with them and we’re going to work together to make sure that this 16-year-old-girl and her family get justice for what was a horrendous crime committed.”
Scott said Tumblin has not yet made his first appearance in court, and bond has not yet been set.
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