On April 17, 2001, Mickey Wright Sr., a 46-year-old code enforcement officer for Shelby County, Tennessee, disappeared while on duty. A devoted father of five, he was last seen in the vicinity of the 2500 block of Lamar Avenue in Memphis, after reportedly issuing a citation at a car lot. At the end of his shift, Wright, a man described by those who knew him as a mild-mannered and hardworking family man, failed to return to the office to check in his company truck and log for the day.
This was entirely out of character for the man who was also an insulin-dependent diabetic. The days that followed his disappearance would paint a grim picture of the events that transpired, transforming a missing person case into a homicide investigation.
Two days after he was last seen, a jogger discovered some of Wright's personal belongings, including his work identification and badge, in a creek in Olive Branch, Mississippi. This discovery was followed by a more sinister finding on April 27, 2001, when his company-issued Ford Ranger was found completely burned in a rural field in Marshall County, Mississippi. Despite the disturbing nature of these discoveries, there was no sign of Mickey Wright Sr. Investigators and his family were left with a profound sense of loss and a litany of unanswered questions. Foul play was strongly suspected given the circumstances, and the search for answers would eventually lead investigators to a man with a history of run-ins with code enforcement.
The investigation eventually focused on Dale Mardis, the owner of several commercial properties in Memphis, including the car lot where Wright was last seen. A tip led police to question Mardis in July 2004, and he was subsequently arrested and charged with Wright's murder. Witnesses reported that Mardis, who had a reputation for being a self-proclaimed racist with anti-government views, had confessed to killing Wright in self-defense. The case against Mardis revealed a deeply disturbing motive. He was incensed by the code violation warning he had received from Wright, and his actions were believed to have been racially motivated. In 2007, Mardis entered a no-contest plea to second-degree murder and received a 15-year sentence, a result that was met with public outcry and disappointment from Wright's family. The case was later picked up by federal prosecutors, who pursued it as a hate crime. In March 2011, Mardis pleaded no contest to the federal charge of murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the federal investigation, Mardis confessed to dismembering and burning Wright's body, and also admitted to another murder from 1998. Mickey Wright Sr.'s body was never recovered.Last Seen: Apr 17, 2001
