In the quiet community of Longview in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, the life of 28-year-old Joseph Thomas 'Joey' Fulgham, a male, came to a tragic end on Mother's Day weekend in May 2003. He was discovered in his bed, having been shot once in the back of the head with a. 22 caliber rifle while he slept. The investigation into his death would unravel a complex and troubling story involving his estranged wife and her young half-brother.
Suspicion quickly fell upon Joey's wife, Kristi
Fulgham, and her 13-year-old half-brother, Tyler Edmonds. Investigators were led to the pair after Edmonds confessed to the crime, claiming that he and his half-sister had walked into Joey's bedroom and pulled the trigger together. Based on this confession, both Kristi Fulgham and Tyler Edmonds were arrested and charged with murder. The motive appeared to be financial, as Kristi had inquired about Joey's life insurance policies prior to his death. The prosecution's theory was that Kristi killed her husband for the insurance proceeds and robbed him of his wallet and a computer component to make it look like a robbery.
The legal proceedings that followed were fraught with twists and turns. Tyler Edmonds, who was just 13 at the time of the incident, soon recanted his confession. He claimed his older sister had manipulated him into taking the blame for the murder. Despite his recantation, Edmonds was convicted of murder in 2004 and sentenced to life in prison. His conviction, however, was later overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court in 2007 due to tainted testimony from a forensic pathologist. The pathologist had improbably testified that the bullet wounds suggested two hands were on the gun when it was fired. Upon a retrial in 2008, Tyler Edmonds was acquitted of all charges and set free.
Kristi Fulgham's legal battle also went through several stages. She was convicted of capital murder in December 2006 and initially sentenced to death. She became the first woman in Oktibbeha County to receive such a sentence. However, her death sentence was later overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court, which ordered a new sentencing hearing. In November 2010, following the wishes of Joey Fulgham's family, the state chose not to pursue the death penalty again. Kristi Fulgham was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In exchange for the state not seeking the death penalty, she agreed to forfeit her rights to any further post-conviction appeals.
