The Ghosts of Columbus

     Columbus, Mississippi. The good ole' hometown. I've been in Columbus or the more rural areas outside of Columbus for my whole life, and it doesn't look like that's going to change. It may get a bit boring sometimes, but it's a pretty town with a historic Downtown area as shown in the picture above. Columbus has been compared to Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show, one of my favorite shows. That's a compliment in my opinion. However, even though Columbus is a pretty southern town, that doesn't mean some strange things haven't happened in Columbus. I looked up Columbus on Wikipedia and saw something strange. I know Wiki isn't really a reliable source so I did some more research on the strange thing I read. What was wrote on Wikipedia turned out to be true. I'm guessing you want to know what happened that was so strange and horrible, so I'll tell you. 

 July 8, 1996 in Columbus, MS

     Mack Fowler, a retired farmer, is found stabbed and strangled in his kitchen. He was 78 years old.

November 2, 1997 in Columbus, MS

George Wilbanks, is found stabbed and strangled in his home. He was 75 years old. 

October 13, 1998 in Columbus, MS

Robert Hannah is found hog-tied, gagged, and strangled in his home. He was found because the killer turned the gas on in Hannah's home and the house caught on fire. He was 61 years old.

October 21, 1998

Louise Randall is found hog-tied, gagged, and strangled in her home. She had a sock shoved down her throat. The gas was also turned on. She was 80 years old.

November 17, 1998

Betty Everett is found hog-tied, gagged, and strangled in her home. The gas was also turned on. She was 67.

     Five senior citizens found murdered in their homes. All within a 2 year, four month period. They all lived in a three mile radius of each other. Are they connected? Now you may think this is the work of a serial killer. But the term "serial killer" is one the Columbus Police Department have been reluctant to use regarding these murders. After these murders, senior citizens make sure there houses are secure and have security systems. The murders gained national attention on national news. The show 48 Hours did an episode about these murders in 2000. 

     Spring 1999

     Chief Freshour, age 51, of the Columbus Police Department is accused of embezzling $4,400 from a fund put aside for solving the murders of the elders. He gave the money to a girlfriend whom he was cheating on his wife with. 

     No, the fact that the Chief of Police was stealing money from a fund for solving the cases didn't help these cases get cracked. 

January 14, 2012

Earnest Terell Talley is arrested for a burglary charge along with four other men. Little did the Police know then, that in a month, Earnest would be charged for a 14 year old murder cold case.

February 17, 2012

At the Columbus Municipal Complex, Earnest Talley is charged with the murder of George Wilbanks 14 years prior. Many local reporters watch Earnest's bond hearing. His bond is set at $2 Million.

     In 1997, when George Wilbanks was found strangled, Selvain McQueen was just a lieutenant in the CPD's Investigation Division. In 2012, when Earnest Talley was arrested for the murder, McQueen was the Chief of Police. He had became the chief the year prior in 2011. After 14 years, Selvain finally got his man.  

     Yes, Wilbanks' killer was found, but what about the other four? Come Summer of 2016, it will have been 20 years since Mack Fowler was killed. It's been over 16 years since the Hannah, Randall, and Everett murders. Personally, because of the similar fashion in which they were killed, and the short time period between them, I think the last three are related. Fowler and Wilbanks were killed in a similar fashion to each other. However, the Wilbanks and Fowler cases were a year and four months apart. The last three were within a month and three days of each other. Nonetheless, there are still four cold cases that haven't been solved. As time goes by, our Police Department moves on to other things. The cases may end up going unsolved. It's sad that after all this time, the families of the victims don't have closure. Some elders in my town still live in fear. I hope that eventually put these cases to rest. You wonder, "these elders were murdered, they were living their final years, we don't know how much time they had left." These peoples last years were taken from them by a killer, and we still hunt for answers, even almost twenty years later.