In the late summer of 2017, the quiet community of Poplarville, Mississippi, was shaken by the death of John Wesley Stuart. A 53-year-old male, Stuart was found deceased at his home on Newman Road on September 5, 2017, having suffered multiple gunshot wounds. His passing was not of natural causes, and the events that unfolded would reveal a family tragedy.
John was known for his benevolent and generous nature, a man who loved the outdoors, particularly catfishing and quail hunting.
He had a deep interest in Civil War history and Stuart genealogy. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, he worked in the casino industry before moving to his farm in Poplarville, where he took to cattle farming. Friends and family remembered his outgoing, friendly personality and his embellished, humorous stories.
Concern for his well-being arose when a family member requested a welfare check, leading deputies from the Pearl River County Sheriff's Department to his residence. There, they made the grim discovery of his body. The subsequent investigation quickly focused on a suspect close to home: his older brother, Steven Eric Stuart, who was 60 at the time.
Investigators believed an argument or altercation preceded the fatal shooting. This led to the arrest of Steven Stuart on a murder charge the night his brother's body was found. In a turn of events aimed at lessening the family's loss, Steven Stuart later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in April 2019. Following his plea, a judge sentenced him to the maximum of 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
