A domestic dispute in Mississippi has left 8 people dead, including a deputy sheriff.
On Saturday night in Bogue Chitto, sheriff’s deputy William Durr answered a call for a domestic disturbance. After arriving at the house, he found Willie Cory Godbolt, 35, arguing with his estranged wife and her family over custody of the couple’s children.
According to Vincent Mitchell, the stepfather-in-law, Godbolt’s wife had left her husband because of domestic violence. For about three weeks, she and her two children had been staying with Mitchell in Bogue Chitto before the dispute with Godbolt.
Seeing the police officer, Godbolt looked as if he was about to leave Mitchell’s house. However, he then retrieved his gun from his back pocket and opened fire.
Mitchell and Godbolt’s wife were able to escape. However, Mitchell’s wife, her sister, one of the wife’s daughters and the sheriff’s deputy were shot and killed.
“My pain wasn’t designed for him. He was just there,” said Godbolt as he waited to be transported to jail, referring to Durr’s murder.
Durr, 36, had served the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department for two years. Before that, he worked with the Brookhaven Police Department for four years.
Durr enjoyed making children smile, according to a 2014 interview he held with The Daily Herald. He loved to put on puppet shows for kids, having an interest in ventriloquism since he was a young boy.
“We was talking about me trying to take the children home…somebody called the officer…that’s what they do, they intervene. It cost [Durr] his life. I’m sorry,” continued Godbolt.
After murdering his in-laws, Godbolt fled Mitchell’s house and killed four more people in two other homes. According to local authorities, Godbolt was arrested around seven hours later near the final crime scene in Brookhaven, a ranch style subdivision about a few miles from Bogue Chitto.
“It breaks everybody’s heart,” said Garrett Smith, a college student who attended high school with one of the victims. “Everybody knows everybody for the most part.”
“I’m devastated, “ said Mitchell, sitting outside his yellow frame Bogue Chitto home, surrounded by modest houses, trailer homes, small churches and thick woods. “It don’t seem like it’s real.”
Nonetheless, Godbolt had a lengthy criminal before this tragic incident, according to The Daily Leader.
In 2005, he allegedly hit a man with a pistol and took his cash and jewelry, causing Godbolt to be charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office also charged Godbolt with simple assault in 2013.
In 2015, the Mississippi Highway Patrol arrested him for speeding, driving with a suspended license and having no proof of liability insurance.
Finally, Godbolt was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct in 2016. He later appealed the case.
After his arrest Godbolt confessed to all 8 murders in a video interview on Sunday with The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, sitting with his hands cuffed behind his back on the side of a road.
“I ain’t fit to live, not after what I done,” he said in the interview. “Not in y’all eyes, not in nobody else’s eyes.”
Godbolt was also shot during the incident; however, he was hospitalized in good condition. Authorities were not exactly sure who shot him.
Godbolt ultimately did not intend to be captured alive.
“My intentions was to have God kill me. I ran out of bullets,” he said. “Suicide by cop was my intention.”
As Godbolt awaits his sentencing, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has urged state residents to pray for the victims. He also acknowledged and commended the great “sacrifice” law enforcement officers make on a daily basis.
“Every day, the men and women who wear the budget make some measure of sacrifice to protect and serve their communities,” said Bryant in a statement.
“Too often, we lose one of our finest. I thank the law enforcement agencies involved for their hard work.”
