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REPORTING OFFICER'S NARRATIVE
(Brief narrative of the facts surrounding the offense
and the arrest.) At
12:31 p.m., Emergency Response
received a 911 call reporting the discovery of what appeared to
be a human arm in Little Tallahatchie River. The caller
identified himself as Leonard Webb. Panola County Sheriff's Unit
56 (Deputy Lloyd Carlson)
was dispatched and arrived at the scene at 12:43 p.m. Environmental conditions at the scene upon arrival are
as follows: Estimated Exterior Temperature 69°F/21°C; Estimated Relative
Humidity: 73%.
Upon arrival, R/O was met by an adult
white male, who identified himself as Leonard Webb (Person 2).
Person 2 told R/O he had gone for a walk on his lunch break at approximately
12:10 p.m. and went over to the Little Tallahatchie River "because
the weather was so good." Person 2 said that while he was walking along the east
side of Little Tallahatchie River, he noticed "something strange
caught up in the brush" on the bank. Person 2 said that, when he recognized the object as an arm, he
returned to his workplace (Milo's Paint Shack) and called 911. Once he had told his
story, Person 2 then led R/O to a location on the east bank of
the Little Tallahatchie River, approximately 5 miles north of
Batesville. At that location, R/O
observed what appeared to be a human arm entangled in vegetation
and debris on the east
side of the river. Closer examination confirmed that the arm was
human. At
1:00 p.m., R/O
notified Central Command and requested backup from CSU and the Coroner's
Office. R/O then examined the surrounding area for evidence of other
body parts with negative results. R/O secured the scene for the
arrival of additional personnel.
Coroner's Deputy Inspector Sean Clark
arrived at the scene at 1:13 p.m. Upon confirming the arm was
human, Inspector Clark withheld any further examination, pending
notification from CSU. Inspector Clark noted the arm appeared to
be that of an adult white female.
CSU arrived at the scene at 1:19 p.m. and
began processing the scene. R/O informed CSU that, to
the best of his knowledge, the following personnel had occasion
to enter the crime scene areas and should be excluded by CSU
personnel: Leonard Webb, Coroner's Deputy Inspector Sean Clark and himself.
Inspector Clark observed what appeared to be minor postmortem abrasions, which
may have resulted from contact with rocks and other items in the
creek, as well as minor postmortem incised wounds, which
initially appeared consistent with animal activity. Inspector
Clark indicated that a more precise estimate would be available
following autopsy, but estimated at the scene that, based on
level of decomposition, temperature of the river water and other
factors, the arm had likely been severed 10-14 days prior to the
time of discovery. Inspector Clark stayed with the CSU team to ensure integrity of
the remains, while the team took photographs of the scene and
performed preliminary analyses, until the remains could be removed
from the scene without affecting other evidence. The human remains were remanded into the custody of Coroner's
Deputy Inspector Sean Clark. The remains were removed from scene at 3:20 p.m. and
transported to the coroner's office for autopsy.
CSU completed their processing at 4:42
p.m. Evidence remanded into the
custody of CSU for transport to the
Crime Lab for routine analysis.
R/O left police tape marking the
crime scene, and departed the scene at 4:58 p.m.
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