STARKVILLE — A Maben man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he pleaded guilty Wednesday in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court to the murder of his wife and another woman last summer west of Starkville.
Judge Jim Kitchens sentenced Moses Leon McBride to two life sentences without the possibility of parole after McBride pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder. The state dropped additional counts of aggravated assault and burglary of a dwelling.
The indictment against McBride stemmed from an incident the night of June 15, 2008, when the Oktibbeha County Sheriff”s Department responded to reports of shots fired in a mobile home at 2819 Harrell Road, which is roughly 15 miles west of downtown Starkville.
When police arrived, they found Moses McBride”s wife, Erica Denise McBride, 28, and Stephanie Nicole Bedford, 20, dead at the scene. Erica McBride had a gunshot wound to her upper body, seven stab wounds to the stomach and her throat had been cut twice, Sheriff”s Department Chief Deputy George Carrithers said at the time. She was found in a wooded area near the trailer.
Bedford, who lived at the home, died of a gunshot wound to the upper body and was found in a bedroom. Prentiss Cork, 26, who also lived at the home, was transported to Oktibbeha County Hospital, where he was treated and released for gunshot wounds to the arm and leg, according to court records.
Officers arrested Moses McBride at his Maben home nearly two hours after the attack with a pocketknife and a .357 Magnum handgun, which police believe he used in the crimes.
Police say nine people, including six children, were in the home when Moses McBride showed up angry at his wife and forced his way through the front door. Moses McBride then went to a bedroom where his wife was located and fired at least one shot, Carrithers said.
The suspect then exited the bedroom and walked to the other end of the mobile home, where police say he shot Bedford and Cork. Erica McBride, meanwhile, fled the home on foot, but Moses McBride found her nearby, then stabbed her repeatedly with the pocketknife and cut her throat, Carrithers said.
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