Austin Holeman, a 22-year-old White man, was found dead inside his home in the rural Scotland community of Yazoo County, Mississippi, on January 2, 2023. Family members discovered him that Monday morning and called 911; Pafford paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene shortly before 10:00 a.m. The Yazoo County coroner reported multiple gunshot wounds and investigators determined Holeman had been shot twice in the back.

Investigators concluded firearms were taken from the residence during the encounter. Cell-phone communications led them quickly to 44-year-old Elijah Curtis Savell, who was arrested at his home the afternoon of January 2. Officers recovered firearms taken from Holeman’s house and a weapon believed to be the murder weapon. Savell was initially charged with capital murder; later court records show he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed robbery in a negotiated plea.

Authorities also identified and questioned a second person they believed had been present at the scene; reporting reviewed does not establish that person was charged.