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

Need another copy of your kit directions? Forensic Science Kit directions [PDF] Want to see how you can use this case in your classroom? Lesson Plan @ The Hammond Case Investigation [PDF] Lesson Plan @ From the Crime Scene to the Courtroom [PDF] Want to replenish your kit? Forensic Science Kit Refill in the Crime Scene Store Want to learn more about fingerprinting? How to Collect Latent Fingerprints with Ink and Chemicals (USDOJ Guide) [PDF] How to Identify Latent Fingerprints (FBI Manual) [PDF]

All case files are listed here chronologically.{loadposition currentcase-allfiles}

Case Detectives:The Kudzu Kids are worried. Why are so many dogs missing in Yoknapatawpha County? Maybe the county's animal control officer can provide some clues.Coming up… Rachel, Zach, Melody and Emma try to figure out if there's a pattern in where the missing dogs were last seen. Will you help?Case Officers:Your investigation into the murder of Missy Hammond wraps up on Friday.Do you know who strangled this young mother and left the body for her seven-year-old daughter to find?Coming up… an all-new Crime Scene case for all ages begins for you on Monday, October 31st. Join the Kudzu Kids in solving a neighborhood mystery.Examine the evidence, and share your theories in the forums and the comments.

Case Detectives:Your investigation into the murder of Missy Hammond concluded on Monday. Did you accurately identify whodunit?Coming up… an all-new Crime Scene case for all ages begins for you on Monday, October 24th. Join the Kudzu Kids in solving a neighborhood mystery.Case Officers:You're closing in on Missy's killer.Does private investigator Pam Thompson hold the key to cracking the case? Learn more in today's update.Examine the evidence, and share your theories in the forums and the comments.

It's always hard to be in the middle of an acrimonious divorce, and it's even worse when you're just seven years old.Liddie Hammond found herself caught between the two people she loved the most and their extended families.Who told her to lie about what happened and why?Examine the evidence, and share your theories in the forums and the comments.

Maureen Kirby makes no secret of her feelings about Missy Hammond, her husband's high school girlfriend.She thought Missy was threatening her marriage, and she didn't like it.But was Maureen "running errands" when Missy was murdered, as she claimed?Examine the evidence, and share your theories in the forums and the comments.

Selena Crosscroft is smart, driven and clearly devoted to her boyfriend, Roger Hammond.But can she vouch for his whereabouts at the time his ex-wife was murdered?Examine the evidence, and share your theories in the forums and the comments.

Gloria Hammond, Missy's former mother-in-law, never had much use for Missy, even she was still married to her son.After Missy and Roger divorced, relations got even frostier — until Gloria realized that Missy was the gatekeeper standing between her and her granddaughter.They reached a kind of detente that let Gloria and her husband, Thomas, see seven-year-old Liddie.Now Missy is dead, murdered in her own home.How sad do you think Gloria Hammond is about it?Examine the evidence, and share your theories in the forums and the comments.

Everyone knows that Missy Hammond's divorce was ugly, and the battle over custody of their daughter was heated.Now Missy is dead.Where was her ex that day?Examine the evidence, and share your theories in the forums and the comments.

Seven-year-old Liddie's grandparents brought her home one evening, and she found her mother "asleep" in bed.When her grandfather arrived the next morning, her mother still hadn't woken up.What happened to this young mother? How much did this child witness?Examine the evidence, and share your theories in the forums and the comments.

Member News

The Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department is investigating the murder of young mother, Missy Hammond.

On January 26, 2001, Jonah Dale arrived at the home of his 25-year-old daughter, Missy Hammond, and found her dead in her bed. Missy's seven-year-old daughter, Liddie, was also in the home, bewildered after apparently spending the night with her mother's body. What happened to this young mother? Who could've wanted to hurt her? What, if anything, did the child see and hear? Physical evidence was collected at the scene and witnesses are being questioned. No suspects were immediately identified, but Missy had an ex-husband, a boyfriend, a doting neighbor, and a married ex-boyfriend. The investigation is ongoing.

Case documents are presented in chronological order in the Case Files section. There are four types of case documents: Evidence, Interviews, Biographies, and Press. Click the relevant tag at the top of the Case Files page to filter by document type. If this is your first look at the investigation, you may want to start here: TV news report from the crime scene TheYCSD incident report Localnewspaper coverage of the death Interview with Jonah Dale, called 911

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The local newspaper reports on the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Missy Hammond.

The detectives spoke again to their prime suspect in the murder of Missy Hammond.

The Crime Lab provided findings on their analysis of additional evidence collected in the Hammond investigation.

The Crime Lab provided findings on their analysis of trace evidence collected in the Hammond investigation.

The Crime Lab provided findings on their analysis of DNA evidence collected in the Hammond investigation.

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

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

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

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

The detectives dropped in on Missy's neighbor to ask a few follow-up questions.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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