John Ashley Bennett, 42, a chef from Brookhaven, Mississippi, was found dead in his Smith Lake Road home on April 21, 2018, by his mother. The Brookhaven Police Department reported Bennett had sustained gunshot wounds; investigators treated the death as suspicious and opened a homicide investigation.

The day after Bennett’s body was found, 40-year-old Jesse Scott Smith, described as an acquaintance who had been seen with Bennett the night before, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Smith pleaded not guilty. After a two-day trial in July 2021, a jury returned a guilty verdict and the court sentenced him to life in prison, plus a $10,000 fine and $7,500 restitution for funeral expenses. An appeal of the conviction was denied in December 2022.

Does anyone have information about Bennett’s last known movements or his circle of acquaintances in Brookhaven?