In Greenwood, Mississippi, on September 9, 2023, the life of a 30-year-old Black female entrepreneur named Torrance Payton was tragically cut short. She was fatally shot alongside her sister, 29-year-old Tyissha Pritchett, who worked as a school resource officer. The violence erupted on Janet Road in what authorities have described as a domestic violence incident.
The sisters were together when Tyissha's husband, 32-year-old Robert Earl Pritchett Jr., allegedly opened fire, killing both
of them. Immediately before the shooting, the couple's seven-year-old daughter sustained a head injury from a blunt instrument. Another child, a five-year-old, was in an adjacent room at the time of the incident.
Following the shootings, Robert Pritchett Jr. fled the scene, prompting law enforcement to issue warrants for his arrest and launch a search. The manhunt concluded on September 12, 2023, when he surrendered to the Leflore County Sheriff's Department. He was subsequently charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of aggravated assault.
While being held at the Leflore County Jail, Robert Pritchett Jr. was found dead on January 2, 2024. His death was ruled a suicide. With the primary suspect deceased, the case concerning the deaths of Torrance Payton and Tyissha Pritchett is now considered closed by authorities.
