Ongoing case · 2023
Also known as Arkabutla shootings
Ongoing case: this file carries charge-sheet facts only. Anyone charged is presumed innocent unless convicted.
The short answer
On February 17, 2023, six people were killed and one other was injured in a series of shootings in and around Arkabutla, Mississippi. Richard Dale Crum, 52, was arrested the same day and charged with first-degree murder.
No one's coverage is attached to this file yet.
Know great coverage of this case?
A documentary, a podcast episode, a careful long-form video. Suggest it and an editor will review it before it appears here.
Suggest coverage for 2023 Arkabutla shootingsOn the morning of February 17, 2023, a spree shooting took place in Arkabutla, Mississippi, resulting in six deaths and one injury. According to a Wikipedia account of the incident, the violence began at approximately 11:00 a.m. when the perpetrator pulled into the parking lot of an Express Mart gas station convenience store and shot into an adjacent vehicle, killing a man who had no connection to the attacker. A second person in that vehicle was left unharmed.
The suspect then drove to the home of his ex-wife and fatally shot her. He also struck her fiancé with a gun but did not shoot him. From there, the perpetrator drove to a residence behind his ex-wife's house, where he fatally shot his stepfather and his stepfather's sister. He then fatally shot two more men on a road behind his own house — one identified as his stepfather's cousin and the other as a family friend who was present to help repair a roof.
A sheriff's deputy spotted a vehicle matching the description of the suspect's car. After an attempted traffic stop failed, the deputy followed the vehicle until it stopped in the driveway of the suspect's home, where the suspect was arrested as he attempted to flee on foot.
The six people killed were identified as Chris Boyce, 59; Debra Crum, 60; Charles Manuel, 76; George McCain, 73; Lynda McCain, 78; and John Rorie, 59. Three of the six victims had a personal connection to the accused, while the others were reported to have had no connection to him.
The suspect was identified as Richard Dale Crum, 52 at the time of the shootings (born January 1970), a former Illinois resident who was living in neighboring Coldwater, Mississippi. Crum was born and raised in Rock Falls, Illinois, and had lived in several other Illinois towns during parts of his life. Crum was charged with murder, and prosecutors have indicated they are seeking the death penalty. On October 2, 2025, a court found Crum to be "presently incompetent to stand trial," and he was remanded to the Mississippi State Hospital for competency restoration. As of that date, the case remains pending, with no trial having taken place.
Shootings occur in and around Arkabutla, Mississippi, beginning at a gas station and continuing to multiple residences; six people are killed and one injured. Suspect Richard Dale Crum is arrested the same day after a vehicle pursuit.
Court finds Richard Dale Crum 'presently incompetent to stand trial' and remands him to Mississippi State Hospital for competency restoration.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Killed, age 76; identified as the suspect's stepfather.[3]
Killed, age 59; reportedly had a connection to the accused.[3]
Killed, age 60; the suspect's ex-wife.[3]
Killed, age 73.[3]
Killed, age 59; identified as a family friend present to help repair a roof.[3]
Killed, age 78; identified as the stepfather's sister.[3]
Charged with first-degree murder; prosecution seeking the death penalty; found incompetent to stand trial on October 2, 2025, and remanded for competency restoration.[3]
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
Memphis, Tennessee · 2020s
Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, died three days after being beaten by Memphis police officers during and after a traffic stop on January 7, 2023, an event that prompted criminal charges, protests, and a federal civil rights case.
Credit: New York World-Telegram & Sun / Wikimedia CommonsPublic domainSourceSOLVEDListenLorraine Motel, Memphis, Tennessee · 1960s
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray, an escaped convict, pleaded guilty to the murder in 1969 and was sentenced to 99 years, though he later recanted. A 1999 civil jury found Loyd Jowers and unnamed others civilly liable for a conspiracy, a finding the U.S. Department of Justice disputed in 2000 for lack of evidence.
Robin Hood Hills, West Memphis, Arkansas · 1990s
Three eight-year-old boys were found murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993; three teenagers were convicted the following year in a case marked by disputed evidence, allegations of coerced confession, and claims of a Satanic motive, and were released in 2011 after entering Alford pleas.
Credit: Family/Instagram photograph, widely distributed in press coverageEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenMoscow, Idaho · 2022
Four University of Idaho students—Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle—were fatally stabbed inside an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. Bryan Kohberger, a criminology PhD student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested that December and pleaded guilty in 2025, receiving four consecutive life sentences.
Credit: Mona EshaikerCC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenHolmby Hills, Los Angeles, California · 2009
Singer Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles from acute propofol intoxication administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled the death a homicide, and Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in November 2011.
Credit: RaptacCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenBardstown, Kentucky · 2015
Crystal Rogers, a 35-year-old Bardstown, Kentucky, mother of five, disappeared in July 2015 and has never been found; in 2025, her former boyfriend, Brooks Houck, was found guilty of her murder, and two other men were convicted of related conspiracy and evidence-tampering charges.
