Media

Deputies Search for Suspects in North Shelby County Murder

Release Date: December 20, 2006

Shelby County Sheriff’s Detectives say a man was found dead today in a remote area of North Shelby County near Frayser.

About noon, an MLGW employee working on Benjestown Road near Carrolton Avenue saw the body of a white man in his forties lying in the front yard of an abandoned home in the 3300 block of Benjestown.  Deputies believe the man had been beaten. The Shelby County Medical Examiner is working with detectives to determine the exact cause of his death.

Minutes after deputies arrived to investigate the murder, the victim’s pick up truck was discovered a few miles away submerged in “Sky Lake” near James Road in Frayser.  A Memphis Police Department officer saw the top of the red Ford F-150 truck near the surface of the water.  Officers quickly determined the truck belonged to victim found on Benjestown. 

Investigators aren’t releasing his name until he is positively identified and his family notified.  Deputies are still investigating the possible motive for the killing and the person or persons responsible.

This is the fifth murder investigated by Sheriff’s Deputies in 2006.  In 2005, there were also five murders in areas patrolled by deputies.  Anyone with information about the murder is asked to call the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office at (901) 379-7625 or Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH (2274).

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