SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
The deaths of a Mississippi woman and her 3-year-old daughter, whose bodies were recovered from the Tombigbee River in west Alabama, have been ruled a murder-suicide, authorities confirmed.
Shardee McGill, 32, and her daughter, Janae McGill, 3, were reported missing from Jackson, Mississippi, in late September. According to the Jackson Police Department, Shardee’s husband, Johnathan McGill, contacted police around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 23, to report that his wife and child had been missing since Sunday night.
He told investigators the pair had left their home and that he had not heard from them in days.
A multi-agency search effort was launched involving Jackson police, the FBI, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation. The search soon extended into Alabama after Shardee McGill’s black Chevrolet Equinox was discovered abandoned in the town of Epes, in Sumter County.
Johnathan McGill was detained and questioned by authorities in Alabama but was later released, police said.
Shardee McGill’s body was discovered Thursday morning, Sept. 25, in a shallow area of the Tombigbee River near Epes, according to Sumter County Coroner Sonya Jemison. Janae McGill’s body was recovered from the river the following day.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. Reginal King said both deaths were caused by drowning. After completing the investigation, authorities determined Shardee McGill’s death was a suicide, while Janae McGill’s death was ruled a homicide.
“Over the course of the investigation, the determination has been made that there are no additional suspects involved,” King said.
The case has drawn attention in both Mississippi and Alabama due to the tragic loss of life and the involvement of multiple law enforcement agencies across state lines.
Officials did not release further details surrounding the circumstances leading up to the deaths.