In the small town of Mantachie, Mississippi, a beloved member of the community, 64-year-old Judy Guin, lost her life in a violent and tragic event. On the morning of June 21, 2017, Guin was working as a teller at the Farmers & Merchants Bank, a job she had held since the branch opened. A woman, later identified as 28-year-old Ashlee Blaine Smith of Pontotoc, entered the bank with a gun drawn and demanded access to the vault.
As one of the employees moved towards the back of the bank,
Smith followed. In a sudden and senseless act, Smith stopped, raised her weapon, and fired a single shot that struck and killed Judy Guin. After the shooting, Smith fled the bank, reportedly without taking any money, in a black Chevrolet Tahoe.
Law enforcement was quickly alerted, and a pursuit ensued. Officers spotted Smith's vehicle near Saltillo, Mississippi. When police initiated a traffic stop, and as they approached the Tahoe, a single gunshot was heard from inside the vehicle. Ashlee Blaine Smith was found to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Itawamba County Sheriff's Department confirmed the sequence of events through eyewitness testimony and the bank's video surveillance footage. The investigation, which also involved the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, concluded that Smith acted alone in the attempted robbery and the subsequent murder of Judy Guin. The community mourned the loss of Guin, who was remembered by family and friends as a kind, Godly woman with a servant's heart who was a fixture in the community.
