Casepin
Back to cases

Case file

1997 Pearl High School shooting

SOLVED1997Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · domestic violence · crimes against children — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the morning of October 1, 1997, 16-year-old 11th-grade student Luke Woodham fatally stabbed and bludgeoned his 50-year-old mother, Mary Ann Woodham, at their home in Pearl, Mississippi, as she prepared for a morning jog. An autopsy found eleven slash wounds and seven stab wounds, including wounds to the heart and lungs. At his trial, Woodham said he could not remember killing his mother.

Woodham then drove his mother's car to Pearl High School, concealing a rifle beneath a trench coat. Before the shooting began, he handed a manifesto to fellow student Justin Sledge, who gathered friends and took shelter in the school library. A former student later testified that Sledge had warned others not to turn around regardless of what they heard. Woodham shot and killed 17-year-old senior Lydia Kaye Dew and 16-year-old junior Christina Michelle Menefee, his former girlfriend, and wounded seven other students. Assistant principal Joel Myrick retrieved a pistol from his truck, confronted Woodham as he attempted to flee in the vehicle, and held him at gunpoint until police arrived.

Within a week, police arrested six other students, including Grant Boyette, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, alleging Woodham had been involved with a group formed by Boyette. Notebooks given to Sledge before the shooting also described the earlier killing of Woodham's dog. Conspiracy charges against the minors involved were later dropped at the request of the district attorney, who cited difficulty proving the accusations under Mississippi law. Boyette, who was 18 at the time, was convicted and sentenced to a boot-camp program at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman along with five years of supervised probation.

Woodham faced separate trials for the killing of his mother and the school shooting. His attorney argued an insanity defense at both trials, which jurors rejected each time. He was sentenced to life in prison on June 5, 1998, for his mother's murder. In a second trial that began June 12, 1998, he was convicted on two counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder, receiving two life sentences plus seven 20-year sentences. He is serving three life terms plus 140 years and will be eligible for parole in 2046. A 2010 clemency request to the Governor of Mississippi was denied. As of May 2025, Woodham remains incarcerated in the Mississippi Department of Corrections system.

Following the shooting, Mississippi made murder on school property a capital crime.

Key facts

Victims
Christina Michelle Menefee, Lydia Kaye Dew, Mary Ann Woodham
Date
1997
Location
Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1997-10-01

    Luke Woodham kills his mother, Mary Ann Woodham, at their home in Pearl, Mississippi, then drives to Pearl High School and shoots nine students, killing two.

  2. 1997-10-08

    Justin Sledge, Grant Boyette, and other students are arrested on suspicion of conspiring with Woodham to commit the shooting.

  3. 1998-06-05

    Woodham is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his mother after jurors reject an insanity defense.

  4. 1998-06-12

    Woodham's second trial begins; he is convicted of two counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder in the school shooting.

  5. 1998-06-15

    Woodham enters the Mississippi Department of Corrections system at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.

  6. 2010

    Woodham requests clemency from Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour; the request is rejected.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Christina Michelle Menefee

    VICTIM

    16-year-old junior and former girlfriend of Woodham, fatally shot at Pearl High School.

    citation on file

  • Grant Boyette

    CONVICTED

    Charged with conspiracy to commit murder; convicted and sentenced to a boot-camp program at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and five years of supervised probation.

    citation on file

  • Lydia Kaye Dew

    VICTIM

    17-year-old senior fatally shot by Luke Woodham at Pearl High School.

    citation on file

  • Luke Woodham

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of murdering his mother and two students, and of attempted murder of seven others; sentenced to three life terms plus 140 years.

    citation on file

  • Joel Myrick

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Assistant principal who retrieved a firearm and detained Woodham at gunpoint until police arrived.

    citation on file

  • Mary Ann Woodham

    VICTIM

    Killed by her son, Luke Woodham, at their home on the morning of the shooting.

    citation on file

  • Justin Sledge

    CHARGED

    Fellow student given Woodham's manifesto before the shooting; arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, though he denied involvement and charges against minors were later dropped.

    citation on file

Places

Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi, United States

32.2756, -90.1314

View on the map

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On October 1, 1997, 16-year-old Luke Woodham killed his mother at their home in Pearl, Mississippi, then drove to Pearl High School and shot nine students, killing two, before being restrained by an assistant principal.
Where did the shooting happen?
Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi, United States.
Who was convicted?
Grant Boyette (Charged with conspiracy to commit murder; convicted and sentenced to a boot-camp program at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and five years of supervised probation.) and Luke Woodham (Convicted of murdering his mother and two students, and of attempted murder of seven others; sentenced to three life terms plus 140 years.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. 1997 Pearl High School shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — Peoplenews · People · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The New York Timesnews · The New York Times · 2026-07-07
More cases in Mississippi