A Colorado man and woman have been arrested in Mississippi and are now charged in connection with two murders in the Centennial State in December.
Johnny Rankin Morris is charged with first degree murder in the death of his El Paso County sober living home roommate, 37-year-old Stephen Walker, and he and Hailey Cole are both charged with the death of a man in Park County, KUSA reported.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office launched a search for Morris and Walker, as missing persons, on December 19 after finding “large quantities of blood in multiple locations throughout the residence,” as CrimeOnline reported. After finding the body of 65-year-old Timmy L. Huston in a neighboring county, they said that Morris, 46, and Cole, 43, were persons of interest in Huston’s murder and Walker was missing under suspicious circumstances.
A few days later, Huston’s missing truck was found in Lamar County, Mississippi, and then, Morris and Cole were arrested on unrelated charges in Pearl River County.
Officials there said they received a call on the morning of December 30 saying a man matching Morris’s description was seen attempting to break into her vehicle, the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies and Picayune Police officers responded and began a search of the area, finding Morris and Cole camped in a shed about 45 minutes later.
They were booked into the Pearl River County Jail on outstanding warrants from Lamar County, Wiggins, and the Mississippi Department of Corrections as well as new charges of commercial burglary and attempted residential burglary.
At some point, Walker’s body was found in a remote area of Park County, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said on Friday, and officials issued a murder warrant for Morris in the death of Walker. He is now awaiting extradition on the murder charge, as well as tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence.
The Park County Sheriff’s Office issued warrants for both Morris and Cole for the murder of Huston. They are also charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated motor vehicle theft, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy in that case.
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[Featured image: Johnny Rankin Morris and Hailey Diane Cole under arrest/Pearl River Sheriff’s Department]
