In February 2017 in Toomsuba, Mississippi, 42-year-old Tomecca Pickett was found shot to death in her home along with her 5-year-old son Owen Pickett, her 65-year-old mother Edna Durr, and her 27-year-old sister Kiearra Durr. Neighbors discovered the scene on a Tuesday after they could not get an answer at the house; investigators believe the killings occurred the night before. Kiearra’s 3-year-old daughter was found physically unharmed at the residence. Authorities reported no signs of forced entry.

Investigators focused on Tomecca’s boyfriend, Karon McVay, after learning of a confrontation the day before the killings at Tomecca’s workplace, Rush Hospital, where she had said she planned to have security ban him. McVay was arrested and charged with four counts of capital murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He confessed to shooting the four victims after an argument and was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole on each murder count, to be served consecutively, plus an additional ten years on the firearm charge; his subsequent appeal arguing introduction of prior bad acts was denied on appeal.