Evidence: Official Incident Report

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CASE NUMBER: 002904-03J-2008			Date Reported: 4-6-2008	Time Reported: 10:11 AM
OFFENSE: 911 Report - Well-Being Check			STATUTE:	___ Committed ___ Attempted
OFFENSE:			STATUTE:	___ Committed ___ Attempted
OFFENSE:			STATUTE:	___ Committed ___ Attempted
Location of Offense (Exact address, include Room/ Apt. No.) 107 Combs Street Oxford, Mississippi			Date of Offense: 4/6/2008	Time of Offense: TBA
Location of Arrest (Exact address, include Room/Apt. No.) N/A			Date of Arrest: N/A	Time of Arrest: N/A
Reporting Officer: Det. Sam Murphy	Unit Number: 633	Assisting Officer: Det. Ted Armstrong		Unit Number: 615

PERSON 1
Type: Victim			Category: Adult		Foul Play Suspected Yes
Name: Charles Tatum			Alias/Street Name/ Nickname none		Vic/Offender Relationship unknown
Race White	Height 5' 10"		Weight 205	Hair Brown		Eyes Brown	Sex M
Hat none	Jacket/Coat none		Shirt none	Pants none		Skirt/Dress N/A
Age 51	DOB 7/27/1956		Soc. Security # XXX-XX-XXXX	Scars/Marks/Tattoos none visible
Injury Extent fatal			Injury Description Apparent gunshot wound visible to the right side of head
Address 107 Combs Street, Oxford, Mississippi				Res Phone 234-xxxx Bus Phone 236-xxxx
Occupation Detective		Employer/School County of Yoknapatawpha		Employer Address 711 Jackson Avenue Oxford, Mississippi

ITEMS OF EVIDENCE/PROPERTY RECOVERED
(1)	Type ___ Damaged ___ Lost ___ Recovered ___ Stolen _X_ Taken into Evidence	Item Description 002904-01: One (1) SIG Sauer P226 9mm handgun
(2)	Type ___ Damaged ___ Lost ___ Recovered ___ Stolen _X_ Taken into Evidence	Item Description 002904-02: One (1) 9mm shell casing
(3)	Type ___ Damaged ___ Lost ___ Recovered ___ Stolen _X_ Taken into Evidence	Item Description 002904-03 through 002904-08: Six (6) bone fragments
(4)	Type ___ Damaged ___ Lost ___ Recovered ___ Stolen _X_ Taken into Evidence	Item Description 002904-09: One (1) tooth

REPORTING OFFICER'S NARRATIVE (Brief narrative of the facts surrounding the offense and the arrest.)

At 10:06 a.m., Dispatch received a 911 call regarding an unpleasant odor emanating from a residence at 107 Combs Street, which the caller indicated was the residence of Detective Charles Tatum of the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department. The caller identified herself as Edith McElroy, neighbor and landlady of the property.

Unit #304 (Deputy Fred Willits) and Unit #305 (Deputy P.J. Watson) were dispatched to the scene. Reporting Officer (R/O) Willits arrived at the scene at 10:11 a.m. and R/O Watson arrived at 10:12 a.m.

Upon arrival, R/O Willits was met by the complainant, who identified herself as Edith McElroy. Witness McElroy said, in summary and not verbatim, that she has recently noted an unpleasant odor emanating from the other apartment in her building. Witness McElroy said she had not seen the occupant of that apartment, whom she identified as Detective Charles Tatum of the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department, in several days. The witness indicated it was unusual for her to go more than one day without seeing Tatum and she was concerned for his welfare.

R/O Willits contacted his shift commander to request permission to make entry to the residence. Lieutenant George Montoya gave verbal authorization to gain entry to the residence at 10:22 a.m. The witness McElroy, also the property landlord, provided R/Os with a key to the residence and R/Os entered at 10:24 a.m. The witness McElroy was instructed to remain outside the residence.

Upon entry into the residence, R/Os noted the unpleasant odor was much stronger. R/Os conducted a well-being search of the residence. In the bedroom of the residence, R/Os observed a deceased white male personally known to R/Os as Detective Charles Tatum of the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department. The deceased was in a supine position on the bed and was unclothed. A close-range gunshot wound was visible to the right side of his head and a handgun was observed in the deceased's right hand. The weapon appears to be the deceased's Yoknapatawpha County-issued sidearm, a SIG Sauer P226 9mm. Based on appearance, it is R/O's opinion that the deceased has been dead for some time.

R/O Willits then contacted Dispatch and requested Command Personnel TX him at 234-XXXX, the telephone number at the witness McElroy's residence. Following R/O's verbal report, the following personnel responded to the scene: Sheriff Taylor Sheldon, Lieutenant George Montoya, and Internal Affairs Detective Anna Calhoun. Yoknapatawpha County Fire Department EMTs Bill Harcourt and Ned Keller responded no-code to the scene and transported the deceased to the Coroner's Office.

At 11:43 a.m., Sheriff Sheldon and Det. Calhoun released R/Os from the scene.