Sum of the Parts
What's happened so far…
Investigation Day 1
The detectives were dispatched to a local hotel in response to a 911 call reporting a maid's discovery of a human finger in one of the guest rooms.
Investigators collected evidence from the scene, but the finger's owner was nowhere to be found.
Detectives Murphy and Parker asked the maid, Raquel Santos, to tell them how she came to find the finger.
Later they spoke to the motel manager, Rick Crawford, who made the 911 call.
Investigation Day 2
The detectives also talked to the guests staying on either side of the room where the finger was found, starting with traveling salesman Gavin Price and following up with Davis Meyers from Indiana.
That afternoon, CSU sent over their preliminary inventory of trace evidence.
A few minutes later, the detectives sat down with Will Sands, a bartender at The Roadhouse where Oscar Knight, the occupant of the motel room, was reportedly last seen.
Investigation Day 3
Detectives Murphy and Parker asked Stacy Beecher to come in to talk about her interaction with Oscar Knight at The Roadhouse.
A little later, the detectives brought in Stacy's husband, Joey, to get him to account for his actions concerning Oscar Knight that Saturday night.
Investigation Day 4
While YCSD investigators compiled background information on Oscar Knight, they also reached out to the media to get the public's help in locating Mr. Knight.
Investigation Day 5
Just after dawn, a jogger called 911 to report that she'd found a bag of what she believed to be human body parts at a local park.
After they took a look at the scene, Detectives Murphy and Parker talked to the jogger about the circumstances of her discovery.
That afternoon, Tupelo PD sent over information about an incident two years ago involving Oscar Knight along with a copy of his fingerprints, which identified the finger found at the Rebel Inn.
Investigation Day 6
The detectives asked city employee Caleb Hamilton to come in to explain why he hadn't made himself available the previous day at Lamar Park.
Later in the day, a local IT consultant contacted the YCSD with information about Oscar Knight's whereabouts in the days before he disappeared.
Investigation Day 7
The day started early with another 911 call about body parts at Lamar Park, increasing Yoknapatawphans' anxiety.
The detectives talked to the charming libertine who made the discovery to hear his story and assess its credibility.
Investigators compiled a map of significant locations in the case to get a better idea of how they're related to each other.
Later, Detectives Murphy and Parker got in touch with Gavin Price to find out why he didn't tell them everything about his relationship with Oscar Knight.
Then they asked Steve Marshall to come in to tell them about the reunion he invited Elliott Owens to attend.
Investigation Day 8
Early the next morning, the detectives met with a man who'd been seen at multiple locations related to the investigation to find out what he was doing there.
Then they talked to Elizabeth Barton, who reportedly had a run-in with Oscar Knight at the Marshall family reunion.
That afternoon, they asked Liz's son what he knew about her encounter with Mr. Knight.
Investigation Day 9
The following morning, Detectives Murphy and Parker caught up with Pauline Jones to discuss the claim that she slapped Oscar at the reunion.
Then they talked to Rebel Inn guest and Harley enthusiast Davis Myers again to find out what he knew about the motorcycle seen in Lamar Park.
Later, the detectives brought Steve Marshall back in to find out what he hadn't told them about Oscar's presence at the reunion.
Investigation Day 10
That afternoon, the coroner's office sent over their preliminary report, and CSU provided information on what else they found in the Lamar Park lake.
Investigation Day 11
Detectives Murphy and Parker went to Tupelo to talk to people who knew Oscar, starting with his sister, Carolyn.
Then the detectives spoke with one of Oscar's neighbors, who shared some comments he made shortly before going to Oxford.
Just before lunch, Oscar's boss told the detectives about Oscar as a longtime employee and co-worker.
Back in Oxford that afternoon, the detectives talked to one of the Marshall cousins about his history with Oscar.
Later, the detectives asked the man who had a run-in with Oscar Knight at The Roadhouse to come in again to clear up some questions about his whereabouts the night Oscar was last seen.
Investigation Day 12
The motel manager stopped by the sheriff's department for another conversation at the detectives' request.
After talking to Rick, Detectives Murphy and Parker had another sit-down with the housekeeper who found the finger.
Later that day, the Oxford Weekly Planet's gossip column published a post that may (or may not?) have information related to the investigation.
Investigation Day 13
After looking into some local scuttlebutt, the detectives invited Albert Plum to come by for another chat.
Once they'd heard the hardware store owner's story, Detectives Murphy and Parker sought out one of his companions to see if her account matched his.
A little while later, the Crime Lab sent over their preliminary findings on some recently collected evidence.
Investigation Day 14
The next morning, the detectives had a talk with Albert's late-night dining partner to see what she had to say about that rendezvous and other questions.
As soon as they got her story, they talked to her son again to see if the two of them were on the same page.
Investigation Day 15
First thing the next morning, the detectives met with a judge to get some search warrants signed. They started at the Beecher residence and later visited Albert Plum.
Investigation Day 16
The next day, the detectives split up so they could search the mother and the son at the same time.
Investigation Day 17
As soon as the detectives got the preliminary forensics reports on the evidence collected during the searches, they knew what they had to do next.
Investigation Day 18
First, they invited one of the suspects to come back in, and after a few niceties, had a conversation that ended with that person being taken into custody.
While Detectives Murphy and Parker were talking to the first suspect, Detectives Armstrong and Musgrove went to pick up another suspect. After completing a little paperwork, Detectives Murphy and Parker tried to get to the bottom of what happened.
The Oxford Weekly Planet's Crime Beat covered the press conference about the arrests and the community reaction.
BONUS CONTENT for Case Detectives
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★ Did the second suspect get what they asked for at the end of the interview? Take a look.
★ Get a glimpse behind the scenes with these backstage photos and video outtakes.
