Oxford Eagle, Sunday, March 11, 2000
Ex-Lover Arrested in Beauchamp Murder

by Loretta Winston, Staff Reporter

Saturday afternoon, the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department arrested Michelle "Mickie" Kathleen Webster in the January 16 murder of Oxford restaurateur Devlin Beauchamp. Webster was taken into custody without incident at her residence. She was transported to the Yoknapatawpha Sheriff's Office where she was questioned later in the day, after meeting with her attorney.

Webster is accused in the bludgeoning death of her former boyfriend, Devlin Beauchamp, co-owner of the Home Plate barbecue restaurant in Oxford. Webster reportedly had dated the victim for approximately eight months in 1999, though the couple had broken up several months before Beauchamp's death.

Beauchamp was found dead in his home by his business partner Carl Dixon, who had gone to check on his partner when he failed to arrive for work that day. Dixon and his daughter, Katherine, were among the other people considered suspects in the Beauchamp murder before Webster's arrest.

Speaking about the circumstances leading up to the arrest, Yoknapatawpha Sheriff's Public Information Officer Elizabeth Jones said, "The detectives have put together a strong case against Ms. Webster, using witness statements and forensic evidence to apprehend the suspect." Though PIO Jones declined to comment on the specifics of the evidence against Ms. Webster, District Attorney Jake Hood said, "when this case is presented in court, there will be no doubt of the suspect's guilt in the murder of Devlin Beauchamp."

Public Defender Laura Babcock, assigned to represent Webster, had a very different perspective Saturday. "Anyone who has spoken to my client today can easily see that she is suffering from some type of mental disorder. I intend to have her examined by a psychiatric expert as soon as possible." Babcock refused to say whether she intends to pursue a diminished capacity or mental defect defense strategy.

Unofficial police sources indicate that the woman known in Oxford as Mickie Webster may actually be Natalie Posner, who is wanted for questioning in a 1992 Glendale, CA homicide investigation. Neither Webster's attorney nor the Sheriff's Department has confirmed this information publicly, but Detective David Garcia of the Glendale (CA) Police Department arrived in Oxford Friday and was present when Ms. Webster was questioned.

The Eagle has found records of a Michelle "Mickie" Kathleen Webster born and raised in Grenada, MS, but it is unknown at press time whether the Mickie Webster from Grenada and the Mickie Webster arrested in Oxford Saturday are the same person. There is no indication whether this mistaken or assumed identity may be related to Laura Babcock's comments about her client's mental state.

Michelle "Mickie" Kathleen Webster is expected to be arraigned on murder charges later this week.