In the late summer of 2020, a tragedy unfolded in the small Mississippi city of Indianola, forever altering the lives of one family. On the evening of Sunday, September 6th, the quiet of Pershing Avenue was shattered by an act of violence that claimed the lives of two women. Inside a modest home, police would discover the bodies of 58-year-old Doris Ann Floyd and her 44-year-old daughter, Latonya Rochelle Hodges.
Both mother and daughter had been fatally shot, their lives cut short in a devastating double homicide.
As investigators began to piece together the events of that tragic day, a suspect quickly emerged from the family's own circle. Suspicion fell upon Randolyn Faint, who was identified as Latonya Hodges' boyfriend at the time. The narrative that came to light suggested a domestic dispute that had escalated to an unimaginable conclusion. In the aftermath of the shootings, Faint reportedly reached out to his own family members, confessing to the horrific act of killing both his girlfriend and her mother. Fleeing the scene of the crime, he took Doris Floyd's vehicle, compounding his crimes with theft.
The search for Randolyn Faint did not last long, as he ultimately turned himself in to the Sunflower County Sheriff's Department. Upon his surrender, he also relinquished the weapon used in the killings. Ballistic testing would later confirm that the firearm he turned over was indeed the one that had fired the fatal shots. With a confession to family and the murder weapon in hand, the path to justice, though somber, was becoming clear.
In February of 2023, Randolyn Faint, then 35 years old, stood before the Sunflower County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. His admission of guilt brought a legal conclusion to the case that had begun with such sudden and shocking violence. The court handed down a sentence of forty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Under the terms of his sentence, Faint is required to serve a minimum of thirty years in prison before being eligible for post-release supervision. The sentence also stipulated that he would not be eligible for parole or early release, ensuring he would serve the vast majority of his time behind bars for the violent end he brought to the lives of Doris Floyd and Latonya Hodges.
