Ripley, MS -
FAST FACTS:
Dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Ripley, MS 9/29/2009) An entire Community is opening its wallets to keep a murder investigation alive.
It began with a murder in January, but with few leads, investigators found themselves stalled. But the victim's family and friends couldn't let that happen.
They're doing it, believe it or not, through Advertising.
The January murder of Brian Little was Tippah County's first since 2007, so it got people's attention.
But when the case stalled for lack of evidence, family and friends came together to buy this case some attention.
Practically everybody in Tippah County sees it at least once a day.
The billboard along highway 15 through town represents one family's pain, a desperate cry for help, and a community's concern.
The murder in January of 30 year old Brian Little practically sent the county into a panic. "It was quite shocking the way it happened, the way I understand it was very brutal and of course it upset folks and kinda made us scared." said Debbie Clemmer of Ripley, a close family friend.
Investigators say two masked men broke into Little's mobile home on a sparsely populated County Road in Northeast Tippah. They reportedly tied up his girlfriend and waited for him to come home. As he opened the door they hit him with two shotgun blasts at point-blank range. He apparently had no time to react.
It became the first murder in Tippah County in two years.
That in itself gave this case more attention than usual.
When Tippah County started its first Crime Stoppers program the murder of Brian Little became its first featured case. Investigators say that's because, based on what they've got to go on, they're going to have to have some kind of tip to solve it.
But the tips didn't come in as hoped, so Little's family sought attention for the murder case through advertising.
They figured a billboard, and chipping in their own hard-earned money to bring the 1-thousand dollar Crime Stoppers reward to ten thousand would help.
"Right now, our main thing is just relying on the public." said Tippah County Investigator Jason Willis, who admits this case might not get solved without that help.
"There's not a lot at this time as far as physical evidence. There wasn't much at the residence." explained Willis.
Meantime, a series of fundraisers will help pay the cost of the billboard and other ways of getting the word out on the need for information on who killed Brian Little.
"That's the reason we're raising the money. His parents have both put up a considerable amount of money and the benefits we're having are to go toward that money." said Clemmer.
The next fundraiser takes place October 17th at the Tippah County Fairgrounds.
It'll offer food and entertainment, and is just one of several events planned to keep this case, and the search for Brian Little's killers, alive.
For more information on the fundraisers you can call Debbie Clemmer at Mid-South Medical Supplies at 662-587-3518 or Little's Mother Cindy Hunley at 877-314-6007 or 586-381-0180
Anyone with information about the crime should call Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi, Inc., at 1-800-773-tips. Callers aren't asked their names, and they don't use caller ID. The group's website is www.crimestoppersNEMS.com
- The January 2009 murder was Tippah's first since 2007
- Little or no physical evidence at crime scene
- Family buys billboard to keep investigation alive
Dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Ripley, MS 9/29/2009) An entire Community is opening its wallets to keep a murder investigation alive.
It began with a murder in January, but with few leads, investigators found themselves stalled. But the victim's family and friends couldn't let that happen.
They're doing it, believe it or not, through Advertising.
The January murder of Brian Little was Tippah County's first since 2007, so it got people's attention.
But when the case stalled for lack of evidence, family and friends came together to buy this case some attention.
Practically everybody in Tippah County sees it at least once a day.
The billboard along highway 15 through town represents one family's pain, a desperate cry for help, and a community's concern.
The murder in January of 30 year old Brian Little practically sent the county into a panic. "It was quite shocking the way it happened, the way I understand it was very brutal and of course it upset folks and kinda made us scared." said Debbie Clemmer of Ripley, a close family friend.
Investigators say two masked men broke into Little's mobile home on a sparsely populated County Road in Northeast Tippah. They reportedly tied up his girlfriend and waited for him to come home. As he opened the door they hit him with two shotgun blasts at point-blank range. He apparently had no time to react.
It became the first murder in Tippah County in two years.
That in itself gave this case more attention than usual.
When Tippah County started its first Crime Stoppers program the murder of Brian Little became its first featured case. Investigators say that's because, based on what they've got to go on, they're going to have to have some kind of tip to solve it.
But the tips didn't come in as hoped, so Little's family sought attention for the murder case through advertising.
They figured a billboard, and chipping in their own hard-earned money to bring the 1-thousand dollar Crime Stoppers reward to ten thousand would help.
"Right now, our main thing is just relying on the public." said Tippah County Investigator Jason Willis, who admits this case might not get solved without that help.
"There's not a lot at this time as far as physical evidence. There wasn't much at the residence." explained Willis.
Meantime, a series of fundraisers will help pay the cost of the billboard and other ways of getting the word out on the need for information on who killed Brian Little.
"That's the reason we're raising the money. His parents have both put up a considerable amount of money and the benefits we're having are to go toward that money." said Clemmer.
The next fundraiser takes place October 17th at the Tippah County Fairgrounds.
It'll offer food and entertainment, and is just one of several events planned to keep this case, and the search for Brian Little's killers, alive.
For more information on the fundraisers you can call Debbie Clemmer at Mid-South Medical Supplies at 662-587-3518 or Little's Mother Cindy Hunley at 877-314-6007 or 586-381-0180
Anyone with information about the crime should call Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi, Inc., at 1-800-773-tips. Callers aren't asked their names, and they don't use caller ID. The group's website is www.crimestoppersNEMS.com
