In the quiet town of Laurel, Mississippi, the life of a young woman named Mary Ann Collins was tragically cut short. Collins, a 19-year-old Black female from the nearby community of Ellisville, was fatally shot on the evening of October 24, 2022. The violent incident that claimed her life unfolded in the parking lot of Loper's Laundry, a local establishment.
She was not alone in her final moments; alongside her in the vehicle was 22-year-old Travion Barnett, who also succumbed to gunshot wounds. A third individual in the car sustained a gunshot wound to the leg but survived the harrowing attack.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly led authorities to a primary suspect: 19-year-old Ronald “Hot Boy” Buckley. A manhunt for Buckley ensued, culminating in his apprehension nearly a month later, on November 22, 2022. He was located and taken into custody in Fremont, Ohio, far from the scene of the crime. His arrest brought a sense of relief to a community shaken by the brutal slayings, though the motive for the shooting was not immediately made public.
Following his capture, Ronald Buckley was extradited to Mississippi to face a litany of serious charges. These included two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Mary Ann Collins and Travion Barnett. The charges against him extended beyond the fatal shootings, encompassing four counts of aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a stolen firearm, and directing or causing a youth to commit a felony. Buckley's alleged violent history also came to light, as he was linked to other shooting incidents, including one involving two teenagers and another where a man was shot multiple times earlier that same year. Denied bond, he was assigned a court-appointed attorney to represent him in the ongoing legal proceedings.
