Did Maureen kill Missy to keep her away from Steve?

The detectives asked Maureen about her reaction to the recent contact between her husband and Missy.

The detectives asked Steve about his current relationship with Missy

The detectives tracked down Missy's high school boyfriend and asked him to come in for an interview.

Did Steve kill Missy? Does he think his wife did?

The detectives asked Steve about his relationship with Missy and his wife's reaction to it.

The victim gave her neighbor a letter to open if something happened to her

Weeks before she died, Missy gave Kevin a letter to open if something happened to her.

The detective asked Liddie about spending time with her father

The detectives talked to Liddie again to see if they could learn anything more from her.

Kevin remembered a letter Missy had given him before she died

Kevin Travers notified the detectives that he had some additional information to share with them.

Can Roger satisfactorily explain the life insurance policy?

The detectives talked to Missy's ex-husband again to try to answer some open questions.

Just what could Kevin Travers see of Missy's place from his house?

Investigators prepared a diagram of the relative locations of the Hammond and Travers residences.

Seal of Yoknapatawpha County with the label 'Search Warrant'

YCSD investigators obtained a warrant to search Roger Hammond's residence and vehicle.

The coroner produced a preliminary report on Missy Hammond's autopsy

Preliminary report from the Yoknapatawpha County Coroner's Office on the autopsy of Melissa Hammond. Additional analyses are ongoing.

Seal of Yoknapatawpha County with the label 'Search Warrant'

YCSD investigators obtained a warrant to search Steve and Maureen Kirby's residence and vehicles.

The detectives tried to get Liddie to open up about what she witnessed around her mother's murder

The detectives spoke with the victim's seven-year-old daughter about what she saw and heard the night her mother was killed.

PI Thompson gave detectives a copy of her surveillance reports

Private investigator Pam Thompson provided a copy of her reports to the detectives.

The detectives found the Hammond had differing opinions of their former daughter-in-law

The detectives visited the Hammonds at their car dealership to talk about their son and former daughter-in-law.

This PI was hired to follow a person of interest in this case

A local private investigator spoke to detectives about the Missy Hammond investigation.

Roger's parents have long had a difficult relationship with each other and others

Married: 6/17/72
Occupation: Co-owners, Farrell Motors
Hometown: Oxford, MS
Relationship to case: Victim's ex-in-laws
Excerpt: "Almost immediately, the couple began fighting over…"

The detectives asked Johnny for more info about Missy's relationships

The detectives asked Johnny McPhail to provide some more information about Missy's relationships.

Johnny has been close to his cousin, Jonah, and his daughter since Jonah's wife left them

DOB: 12/24/41 
Occupation: Actor/Freelance CPA 
Hometown: Burlington, NC 
Relationship to case: Victim's cousin
Excerpt: "[Johnny often gave Missy] advice on matters that she didn't feel comfortable discussing with…"

What does Selena know about Roger's recent habits and activities?

The detectives asked Selena Crosscroft for more details about Roger and his activities around the time of the murder.

Missy Hammond confided in her cousin Johnny

The detectives talked to Jonah Dale's cousin, who had a close relationship with Dale's daughter, Missy Hammond.

Janet agreed to hypnosis to help her remember what she saw

The delivery person who was in the victim's neighborhood the afternoon of the murder agreed to work with investigators to try to remember more about that day.

Det. Armstrong asked Gloria Hammond to clear up some inconsistencies in her original statement

The detectives spoke with Roger's parents again to clear up some inconsistencies. Det. Armstrong talked to Gloria Hammond.

Two hands clinking pint glasses of beer

Investigators conducted a canvass of Murff's patrons to try to corroborate JP Wallace's alibi.

Det. Murphy spoke to Roger's father about inconsistencies in his previous statement

The detectives spoke with Roger's parents again to clear up some inconsistencies. Det. Murphy talked to Thomas Hammond.

The detectives met with Dr. Flaherty to find out why he was in Missy Hammond's phone records

The detectives spoke to the doctor whose phone number was in Missy Hammond's phone records.

File folder stamped "Alibi"

Investigators attempted to verify Maureen Kirby's whereabouts on the afternoon of January 26th.

Map showing locations relevant to the Missy Hammond investigation

Investigators prepared a map showing locations relevant to the Missy Hammond homicide investigation.

The Crime Lab reported their preliminary findings from the Missy Hammond crime scene

The Crime Lab provided preliminary findings on their analysis of evidence collected in the Hammond investigation. Additional analyses are ongoing.

Number keys of a landline telephone

YCSD investigators obtained Missy Hammond's phone records for the days prior to her death.

The detectives asked Steve to clarify his current relationships

The detectives asked Missy's former boyfriend to come back in and clarify a few open questions.

JP has always been something of a ne'er-do-well

DOB: 8/9/72
Occupation: Warehouse associate 
Hometown: Oxford, MS
Relationship to case: Victim's boyfriend
Excerpt: "By the first of the year, he was growing tired of Missy's demands on…"

The detectives asked the victim's ex to clear up some holes in his original story

The detectives brought Roger Hammond back in to discuss some unresolved questions about his previous comments.

Multiple witnesses saw JP and Missy arguing the day she died

The detectives brought in Missy Hammond's boyfriend to talk about their relationship and the argument they had the afternoon of her death.

Maureen had a crush on Steve years before they ever dated

DOB: 9/27/75 
Occupation: Business Manager, Complete Computing Specialists 
Hometown: Oxford, MS
Relationship to case: Victim's ex-boyfriend's wife
Excerpt: "Maureen was incensed at what she thought was Missy's…"

DOB: 10/31/74 
Occupation: Sales Manager, Farrell Motors 
Hometown: Oxford, MS
Relationship to case: Victim's ex-husband
Excerpt: "[Roger] flew into a rage and began ransacking the…"

The detectives asked Maureen to clarify her relationship with Missy

The detectives asked Steve Kirby's wife to come in for a conversation about her connection to the victim.

The detectives asked the victim's ex-husband to provide an alibi for the time of the murder

The detectives brought in Roger Hammond to talk about his ex-wife's murder.

An insurance investigator contacted the detectives regarding a policy on the victim

An insurance investigator contacted the detectives regarding the Missy Hammond homicide investigation.

Investigators compiled a list of vehicles registered to persons of interest in the investigation

Investigators compiled a list of vehicles registered to persons of interest in the investigation.

Adjacent single-family houses

Investigators conducted a canvass of residents in Missy Hammond's neighborhood.

Missy's father came in to answer some more questions about his daughter's life

The detectives asked Missy's father to come in for another interview to follow up on some open questions.

Brenda saw the fight between Missy and JP the afternoon before Missy's body was found

The detectives spoke to a teenager who was babysitting across the street from the Hammond house on the afternoon of January 26, 2001.

Dana was Missy's closest friend at the hair salon where they both worked

Detective Murphy talked to one of Missy Hammond's close friends at the Southern Beauty hair salon.

Seal of Yoknapatawpha County with the label 'Evidence Inventory'

CSU submitted this preliminary inventory of items taken into evidence in the Missy Hammond homicide investigation.

Hair salon client chairs

Investigators spoke to the victim's co-workers about her life and state of mind before her death.

Kevin saw Missy arguing with her boyfriend the day before she died

The detectives spoke with Missy Hammond's friend and neighbor, Kevin Travers, about what went on in the neighborhood the day before her body was found.

Selena's personal history has made her a strong advocate for fathers' rights

DOB: 8/11/76
Occupation: Social worker, NMRC
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Relationship to case: Victim's ex-husband's girlfriend
Excerpt: "[Selena] constantly reviewed divorce law and custody statutes, looking for something that would give [Roger]…"

Kevin has had a crush on Missy ever since she moved in

DOB: 6/2/72 
Occupation: Photographer 
Hometown: Pontotoc, MS
Relationship to case: Victim's neighbor
Excerpt: "Kevin often seethed with anger and frustration when he…"

The detectives questioned Selena about her relationship with Roger, her alibi, and more

The detectives spoke to Roger Hammond's girlfriend about her whereabouts the afternoon of January 26th and other relevant questions.

Jonah found his daughter's body and was interviewed at the scene

The detectives spoke to Jonah Dale at the crime scene, after he found his daughter's body and called 911.

Chuck was babysitting with Brenda Marsh across the street from the victim's residence on January 26th

The detectives spoke to Brenda Marsh's friend who was with her the afternoon of January 26th.

Jonah told the detectives about finding his daughter dead

DOB: 5/4/49 
Occupation: Hardware department manager 
Hometown: Tupelo, MS
Relationship to case: Victim's father
Excerpt: "Jonah was heartbroken and lonely but fought his depression to…"

This Airborne Express employee delivered a package to one of the victim's neighbors the afternoon of January 26th

The detectives tracked down the delivery driver seen in the victim's neighborhood on the afternoon of January 26th.

Liddie apparently spent the night next to her mother's dead body

DOB: 12/12/93 
Occupation: Student 
Hometown: Oxford, MS
Relationship to case: Victim's daughter
Excerpt: "Liddie still believes to this day that if she had been more of a good girl, they would…"

Hand signing a consent form

Thomas Hammond gave investigators permission to collect evidence from the Farrell Motors service center.

Missy was found strangled to death in her home

DOB: 7/18/75 
Occupation: Hairstylist 
Hometown: Oxford, MS
Relationship to case: Victim
Excerpt: "Sometimes the fights escalated into the breaking of furniture and dishes and even violent…"

Vehicles on a showroom floor

Investigators spoke to Farrell Motors employees to try to corroborate Roger Hammond's alibi.

The Oxford Eagle covers the death of young mother Missy Hammond

The local newspaper reports on the death of young mother, Melissa Hammond.

The detectives think Brenda left out some details in her account of the events on the afternoon before Missy Hammond was found dead

The detectives talked to babysitter Brenda Marsh again to clarify some questions about her original statement.

Seal of Yoknapatawpha County with the label 'Incident Report'

On January 27, 2001, a 911 caller reported the discovery of a body inside an Elm Street residence.

Steve and Missy dated in high school until their messy break-up

DOB: 4/17/75
Occupation: Co-owner, Complete Computing Specialists 
Hometown: Oxford, MS
Relationship to case: Victim's ex-boyfriend
Excerpt: "Steve thought this was the perfect way to teach Missy a lesson."

A local TV news reporter is live at the crime scene

The local news reports live from the crime scene, where a young mother was found dead in her home.

Go to top