Exclusive: Suspect confesses to C-L reporter; 8 dead, including deputy

Suspect Willie Corey Godbolt told The Clarion-Ledger he intended to commit "suicide by cop" after a shooting rampage in Bogue Chitto and Brookhaven that left eight dead, including a Lincoln County deputy, two boys, his mother-in-law and other family members.

"I ain't fit to live, not after what I done," a handcuffed Godbolt, 35, who had gotten into an argument with his estranged wife over their children, told The Clarion-Ledger.

Authorities from multiple agencies took Godbolt into custody on East Lincoln Road in Brookhaven Sunday morning, some seven hours after the shooting spree started. He has been charged with one count of capital murder and seven counts of first-degree murder.

Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain, in a news release, said the shooting spree began at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday with a domestic call at 2871 Lee Drive in Bogue Chitto.

Godbolt told The Clarion-Ledger that he had gone to the residence to talk about his children. At some point neighbors called police, and that's when the deputy arrived to try to calm the situation. 

Four bodies — those of three women and Lincoln County Deputy William Durr, 36 — were recovered there.

Vincent Mitchell, the stepfather-in-law of the suspect, told The Associated Press that Godbolt's wife and their two children had been staying at his Bogue Chitto home for about three weeks after she left her husband.

After the sheriff's deputy arrived at the house, Godbolt looked as if he were about to leave, then reached into his back pocket, pulled a gun and opened fire, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he escaped along with Godbolt's wife. But he said three family members were killed in his home: his wife, Barbara Mitchell; her daughter, Toccarra May; and his wife's sister, Brenda May.

"I'm devastated. It don't seem like it's real," Mitchell said. 

The second crime scene was located at 1658 Coopertown Road in Brookhaven where the bodies of the two boys were found. The shooting there happened sometime between midnight and 5 a.m.

As authorities, including several employees of the coroner's office, processed the first scene, a call suddenly echoed out over every law enforcement radio on site: "The suspect is at a residence at 312 East Lincoln Road. He has opened fire."

Members of multiple agencies left the Bogue Chitto scene and arrived at East Lincoln as Godbolt attempted to flee the scene on foot.

As deputies held him on the ground, Godbolt talked freely about his family and how he  just wanted to "live and let live, and they wouldn't let me do that." 

"My pain wasn't designed for him. He was just there," Godbolt said of the deputy. "We was talking about me trying to take the children home ... somebody called the officer ... that's what they do, they intervene. It cost him his life. I'm sorry."

When asked what's next for him, Godbolt said, "Death ... Suicide by cop was my intention. I ain't fit to live. Not after what I've done."

Godbolt, of 377 Brister St. in Bogue Chitto, professed to The Clarion-Ledger his love for his wife, children and Bogue Chitto.

He also said he had been shot by someone inside the home. He was treated and taken by ambulance to a Jackson hospital. It wasn't clear who had shot him.

The bodies of a man and a woman were recovered at the home on East Lincoln in Brookhaven.

Strain said authorities were waiting on the notification of next of kin before releasing the names of the other seven victims, though family members confirmed the identity of some of the victims.

"Everybody that got killed was related to him, except the deputy,"  Johnny Hall Sr., a  member of the New Zion Union M.B. Church in Bogue Chitto, told The Associated Press. He said Godbolt also was a member of the church.

Durr, married and the father of an 11-year-old son, was a two-year veteran of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and a four-year veteran of the Brookhaven Police Department.

Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing said the community is reeling at the loss of life. He said it will be hard for the department to deal with the Durr's absence. He had just finished DARE school and had a puppet show he would put on for the schools. He was a local favorite among children.

"It's a small community and everybody's hurting in one way or another," Rushing said. "To me, he died a hero doing his job."

Gov. Phil Bryant issued a statement asking for prayers in the aftermath of the tragedy. 

“Every day, the men and women who wear the badge make some measure of sacrifice to protect and serve their communities. Too often, we lose one of our finest. I thank the law enforcement agencies involved for their hard work,” Bryant said.

Other agencies responding, Strain said, included the Mississippi Highway Patrol, Bureau of Narcotics, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Pike, Walthall, Franklin, Copiah, Lawrence, Amite counties sheriff’s departments, and the Brookhaven Police Department.

This is, to the memory of most involved, the largest crime spree in Lincoln County history.

"Just this year we've had a quadruple homicide in Yazoo County, a quadruple homicide in the city of Jackson, a quadruple homicide in Lauderdale County, and now eight people killed in one shooting spree here in Lincoln County," Strain said. "You think you've seen it all, then another day comes along."

Lincoln County has about 34,000 people. The county seat, Brookhaven, has about 14,000 people, and Bogue Chitto, an unincorporated town of about 533, is about 10 miles south of Brookhaven.

Contact Therese Apel at 601-961-7236 or tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.