James Jimmy Hendricks, a 21-year-old white man, was found murdered on June 17, 1978, in Pemiscot County, Missouri, near the Arkansas border. An autopsy showed three gunshot wounds to his neck and head. For nearly four decades his identity was unknown; he was recorded as a John Doe and had a tattoo with the initials J and H on his right arm and a vertical scar on his forehead.

Hendricks had been traveling with Kimberlin Mills; her body was found the same day about fifteen miles away in Blytheville, Arkansas. Investigators concluded both victims were likely killed by the same person after witnesses saw them together at a Missouri truck stop shortly before the shootings. Evidence survived despite some case files being damaged by flooding, and dental records and DNA were preserved.

A major breakthrough came in May 2017 when updated fingerprint matching linked Hendricks to Michigan Department of Corrections records, identifying him as James Hendricks of Flint; Mills was later identified through DNA comparison with her brother in early 2018. No suspect has been publicly named or charged and the person seen giving them a ride has not been located. Anyone with information about their movements on June 17, 1978, or who saw them at the truck stop is asked to come forward.