In the quiet community of Union, Mississippi, a sense of unease settled over the town on March 27, 2015, when 32-year-old Brandon Lee Woodis and his father, Gilbert Anthony Woodis, 57, were found dead in their home. The grim discovery marked the beginning of a homicide investigation that would unravel a story of friendship turned fatal.
Brandon, a male, was a resident of Union, where he lived with his father.
The tranquility of their lives was shattered when a longtime family friend, Billy Jerald McLain, then 31, of Crystal Springs, was identified as the suspect. McLain, who had been staying with the Woodis family for a couple of weeks, had a history with them; he had previously been an employee at one of Gilbert's Wendy's franchises and had developed a close friendship with Brandon.
The investigation into the double homicide moved swiftly. A relative of McLain's in Oklahoma contacted the Neshoba County Sheriff's Department after receiving a disturbing call from him in which he claimed to have killed two people. This crucial tip led law enforcement to the Woodis residence and set in motion the search for McLain. He was apprehended by the Jackson Police Department later that same day after abandoning his vehicle on a dirt road in Simpson County.
Following his arrest, McLain was charged with two counts of murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was held in the Neshoba County Jail without bond. According to investigators, McLain confessed to the killings, stating that he had become paranoid and flew into a rage, shooting both Brandon and his father with a high-powered rifle. It is believed that Brandon was his first victim. At the time of the murders, McLain was on probation for prior burglary convictions. He was later indicted on the two murder charges by a Neshoba County grand jury.
