Jackson Jambalaya

 Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens issued the following statement. 

 Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens, II, announced today that 45-year- old Mackenzie “Corey” Stuckey has been found guilty of Second-Degree Murder and Kidnapping, following a missing persons investigation that led to the discovery of 65-year-old Richard Cooper’s decomposed body in an abandoned house.

On October 20, 2018, officers with the Jackson Police Department responded to a residence on Winterview Drive after the victim’s daughter reported her father, Richard Cooper, missing. During the investigation, detectives received multiple tips regarding Cooper’s disappearance and the location of his vehicle. Investigators learned that Stuckey and a co-defendant had received a check in the mail that was addressed to a former resident and asked Cooper to deposit it into his bank account since neither of them had an account. Believing Cooper was keeping the money after receiving a letter saying that the money was deposited, the two devised a plan to lure him back to the residence. He was kidnapped, bound with ropes, and held in a back room. After he freed himself and tried to get out, a struggle with Stuckey ensued. Stuckey struck the victim on the head with a wooden object with nails, restrained him again by hogtying him using an extension cord and duct tape around his face, placed him in the trunk of his own vehicle, and drove away. Stuckey later admitted that he left Cooper alone at an abandoned house, injured and bound, with no way to escape or call for help. He ultimately led investigators to the location of Cooper’s decomposed body.

Stuckey was found guilty and faced a maximum of 40 years to be served in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Because of the gruesome and callous nature of this crime, the District Attorney’s Office requested a bifurcated sentencing phase and asked for the jury to impose a life sentence. The jury returned a life sentence for the murder and 30 years for the kidnapping. 

“This defendant left a man bound and beaten in an abandoned house with no way to escape or call for help. He died there alone, all over money. That is a disgusting level of cruelty and greed,” said District Attorney Jody E. Owens, II. “We will not tolerate such a heinous disregard for human life.” 64-yr-old man missing from Edwards found dead; two suspects in custody. Our office sends special thanks to the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, whose assistance, including the use of a cadaver dog, helped investigators locate Mr. Cooper’s remains and bring this case to a resolution.

 Kingfish note: The cadaver dog found his body in the house.  The dog and his handler testified in the trial.  It was the first time a police dog was allowed in the courtroom.