In the early morning hours of August 17, 2023, the life of 42-year-old Hallie Mae Sapp Robertson, a female resident of Coffeeville, Mississippi, was tragically cut short. Her body was discovered on a gravel road just across the Tallahatchie County line, behind the Oakland 1 Stop convenience store. An autopsy would later confirm that she had sustained a single gunshot wound to the head, and her death was ruled a homicide.
At the time of her death, Robertson was a dedicated rural carrier associate for the United States Postal Service in Batesville.
The investigation into her death began after the Yalobusha County Sheriff's Department received a 911 call from a witness who reported being assaulted. This witness directed law enforcement to the location on Highway 32 where the shooting had occurred. Responding deputies found Robertson deceased at the scene. Investigators also located a 9mm shell casing and a cellphone near her body. It was reported that the suspect had fled the scene in Robertson's vehicle.
Within hours of the discovery of Robertson's body, law enforcement made an arrest. The suspect was identified as 41-year-old Bobby Arnez Taylor of Oakland, who was said to have been in a relationship with Robertson. Robertson's vehicle, a 2017 Ford Escape, was found abandoned on Spruce Street in Oakland with the driver's side window shattered. Evidence recovered from the vehicle and a residence where Taylor was staying linked him to the crime.
Following a joint investigation by the Tallahatchie and Yalobusha County Sheriff's Departments and the Oakland Police Department, Bobby Arnez Taylor was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and felony taking of a motor vehicle. He was taken into custody in Tallahatchie County, and a judge set his bond at $750,000.
