In the quiet community of Kokomo, Mississippi, a chain of events unfolded on a December night in 2017, culminating in the tragic death of 44-year-old Billy May. The evening began with a report to the Marion County Sheriff's Office around 10:30 PM concerning a fight involving a possible shooting and stabbing on Conerly Lane. Deputies who responded to the initial call found nothing out of the ordinary and no one in the vicinity.
However, about thirty minutes later, a second call directed
deputies to a suspicious vehicle parked at a residence on the same lane. It was there they discovered the body of Billy May, a resident of nearby Tylertown. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The initial scene of the altercation was later determined to be at a different address on Conerly Lane.
The ensuing investigation by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, quickly led to the identification of two suspects. Jarvis Conerly, 26 years old at the time and from Kokomo, was arrested and subsequently charged with murder. Investigators also sought to question 37-year-old Ronnie Smith, also of Kokomo. When deputies approached Smith, he fled on foot, prompting a manhunt that lasted through the night. He was taken into custody on Sunday morning at the Marion County Jail and was also charged with murder. Following their arrests, both men were held on $1 million bonds each.
