Deputy Sheriff Kirby Shell, 70, was killed on the night of Sunday, December 17, 1978, during an enforcement action in Homochitto National Forest in Franklin County, Mississippi. Shell, a 18-year veteran of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department who had served three terms as elected sheriff, was assisting three conservation officers trying to stop nighttime deer hunting with headlights near the intersection of Highway 33 and Liberty Road south of Roxie. A confrontation with three brothers followed and the youngest, a 15-year-old, fired a 12-gauge shotgun that fatally wounded Shell.

All three brothers were taken into custody. The 15-year-old was charged as an adult with murder; he was later convicted of manslaughter on April 30, 1979, and sentenced to 18 years in a youthful offenders institution with transfer to the state penitentiary after four years and immediate parole eligibility upon transfer. Shell was survived by his wife, three brothers, and a sister.