Cedrick Smith, 40, was found dead inside his Russell Circle home in Wesson, Mississippi, in the predawn hours of Friday, November 13, 2020. Deputies from the Copiah County Sheriff’s Office treated the scene as a homicide after discovering Smith’s body and reporting an apparent gunshot wound; his body was sent to the Mississippi Crime Laboratory for autopsy.

Two days earlier, November 11, 2020, a kidnapping in Copiah County prompted an alert naming two suspects, 25-year-old Donald James Free and 30-year-old Monica Denise Barnett, believed to be traveling together in a white 2001 Nissan Altima. Within days, Free and Barnett were taken into custody with help from the Crystal Springs Police Department and were charged in connection with both the kidnapping and the killing identified in news reports as Cedric Smith. Public statements did not explain a motive or the precise connection between the kidnapping and Smith’s death.

Official records later show convictions and multi-decade prison terms for Barnett and Free arising from Copiah County cases, but many of the personal details about what happened inside the Russell Circle home remain unclear. If anyone knew Cedrick Smith, saw activity around Russell Circle that week, or has information about the events leading up to his death, please share what is known with investigators.