Kirby Carpenter was 36 when his body was found outside his Dry Creek, Tippah County, Mississippi, home on December 2, 2022. Investigators determined he had been shot two days earlier, dying from a shotgun blast to the chest and neck. His body was partially concealed under a curtain and a heavy truck toolbox. Carpenter’s truck was locked with groceries inside, he had a large sum of cash on him, and a satchel he commonly carried was missing.

Carpenter was living with his girlfriend, 37-year-old Caitlin Spence, and their infant daughter; her parents, Jeffrey and Karen Spence, had been staying with them for about four months after the baby’s birth. Investigators say valuables including gold and silver were taken from the home and that locks and safes had been changed after the killing.

On November 30, 2023, law enforcement arrested Caitlin Spence and her parents; they were later indicted on capital murder, conspiracy and grand larceny. At trial, prosecutors argued Jeffrey Spence traveled from Virginia to Mississippi for robbery and murder and presented victim-linked valuables found in his possession; the defense said he was over 500 miles away in Saltville, Virginia, the night of the killing. The daughter and wife reportedly took plea deals to testify for prosecutors. After a four-day trial the jury deadlocked 6-6 and a mistrial was declared; Jeffrey Spence remains in custody with a retrial expected.