REPORTING OFFICER'S NARRATIVE(Brief narrative of the facts surrounding the offense and the arrest.)
At 10:14 a.m., Emergency Services received a 911 call reporting the discovery of what appeared to be a human arm on the Odom & Son Gravel Pit property. The caller identified himself as Miles Odom, co-owner of the property.
Pontotoc County Sheriff's Unit 4241 (Deputy Bruce Needham) was dispatched and arrived at the scene at 10:25 a.m. Environmental conditions at the scene upon arrival are as follows: approximate exterior temperature 46°F/8°C; approximate relative humidity: 83%.
Upon arrival, R/O was met by an adult white male, who identified himself as Miles Odom (Person 2). Person 2 told R/O that he had been working on the west side of the gravel pit when he uncovered what looked like a human arm. Person 2 said he returned to the company's office and contacted 911.
After giving his account of the discovery, Person 2 then escorted R/O to a location on the west side of the company's property, approximately 1/2-mile south of Bishop Street. At that location, R/O observed what appeared to be a human arm partially buried in the gravel. Closer examination confirmed that the arm was human.
At 11:00 a.m., R/O notified Central and requested a CSU team and a Coroner's unit be notified to respond to the scene.
While waiting for the additional personnel to arrive, R/O secured the area and conducted a visual inspection of the surrounding area. R/O could find no indications that any other parts of the body were present.
Coroner's Inspector Jefferson MacDonald arrived at the scene at 11:21 a.m. Upon confirming the arm was human, Inspector MacDonald withdrew from the scene until CSU could complete processing.
CSU arrived at the scene at 11:28 a.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 may be excluded by CSU personnel: Miles Odom, Coroner's Inspector Jefferson MacDonald and himself.
After CSU had photographed the arm in situ and removed the gravel covering it, Inspector MacDonald conducted a closer examination.
Inspector MacDonald noted the arm appeared to be that of an adult white female and that it had been separated from the torso in the shoulder area but was otherwise intact. Inspector MacDonald observed a possible ligature mark around the wrist.
Inspector MacDonald gave a preliminary estimate that the arm had likely been severed 3-6 days prior to the time of discovery, but said autopsy results would provide a more substantiated estimate.
Inspector MacDonald stayed with the CSU team to protect the integrity of the arm until it could be extracted from the scene without affecting other evidence processing. The arm was remanded into the custody of Coroner's Inspector Jefferson MacDonald. The arm was removed from the scene at 12:45 p.m. and transported to the coroner's office for autopsy.
CSU completed their processing at 2:11 p.m. Evidence remanded into the custody of CSU for transport to the Crime Lab for routine analysis.
R/O left police tape in place marking the crime scene and instructed Person 2 that the area was not to be disturbed until the Pontotoc County Sheriff's Department notifies him that the scene has been released. Person 2 agreed to leave the area undisturbed.
R/O departed the scene at 2:37 p.m.
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