Madison Spires was born on March 16, 2002, the second of what would prove to be four children.
Her father, Jeff, is a security guard at Ole Miss. Once the children were old enough to be in school, her mother, Beth, took a job as a secretary in the Yoknapatawpha County school superintendent's office.
Greg, two years older than Madison, was a high school football star who brokered his local fame into a position selling cars. Sally, two years younger than Madison, is a high school senior who plans to become a prosecutor and then a judge. Kyle, a late addition to the family, is in third grade.
Caught between the Jock and the Brain, Madison became the social butterfly and class clown. After graduation, she attended the Creations College of Cosmetology in Tupelo, and she is now a manicurist at Spa Nails in Oxford.
Her boss, Erin Flowers, describes Madison as a conscientious employee who always works her shifts and pleases her customers with her professionalism and sense of humor.
Madison met Blake Jenson at Spa Nails, according to Ms. Flowers. Blake came in to ask if there was such a thing as a clear, flat nail polish that would strengthen his nails without anybody noticing, and Madison convinced him that the neon orange polish dried clear. When he realized Madison had tricked him, Blake laughed as hard as everyone else in the salon, and Madison and Blake started seeing each other soon after.
Madison lives alone in a two-room apartment. Her landlord reports that Madison pays her rent on time and mostly has not caused any trouble. The landlord said he had not been aware when Madison moved in that she was a musician in a band and noted that sometimes she plays her keyboard a little too loud, a little too late.
Madison attended the video game party where her boyfriend, Blake, died.
