MENDENHALL, MI - A 17-year-old from Mississippi accused of fatally shooting an elderly couple inside their Mendenhall home in June was reportedly a suspect in various other thefts and property crimes in the area, according to law enforcement.
According to authorities, three contractors arrived at the home of 74-year-old Billy Blair and 71-year-old Virginia Carol Blair at approximately 10 a.m. on June 3 to install a generator for the couple. The contractors reportedly noticed a vehicle at the residence with an open door and several firearms scattered across the seats.
The contractors contacted authorities and requested a welfare check. Responding officers arrived at approximately noon and immediately came under gunfire.
A two-hour standoff reportedly followed before authorities apprehended 17-year-old Cordarius Hobbs as he allegedly attempted to flee the property on foot. Authorities said Hobbs was unarmed at the time of his arrest.
During a search of the residence, police reportedly discovered Virginia lying in a fetal position inside one of the bedrooms. She had suffered three gunshot wounds to the back of the head. Her husband, Billy, was found lying facedown in the kitchen with three gunshot wounds to the face.
Hobbs was reportedly familiar with the victims. Family members of the accused said the juvenile had previously performed household work for the elderly couple at their home. Hobbs’ grandfather, Billy Newsome, remains skeptical of the charges against his grandson, saying he cannot make sense of the alleged motive or the circumstances surrounding the case.
“My grandson used to work for the man, why you gone rob a man that you work for? Why you gone stay there that long and you know the police out there, and then you gone wait until everybody gets there to run, it just ain’t adding up, something just ain’t right here,” Newsome said of the case.
Simpson County Sheriff’s deputies were also reportedly familiar with Hobbs. The incident report from the sheriff’s department reads in part, “the suspect could be a troubled juvenile known to us as Cordarius Hobbs who is also suspected of many other home burglaries as well as auto theft in this immediate area.”
Zachary Vaughn, Hobbs’ defense attorney, said prosecutors lack direct forensic evidence tying his client to the killings.
“There was nothing to say he’s a principal, he’s the one that pulled the trigger on these things. One of the things alone was, one of the victims was shot twice on one side of the head and once on the other. I think that’s pretty compelling that somebody else may have been in there. There’s a lot of things that are possible, just a tremendous amount of things,” Vaughn told Fox News.
Hobbs is being held without bond and has been charged with two counts of capital murder, burglary, and several other offenses.
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