Ferridays population of more than 4,500 residents was roughly half black and half white in the mid-1960s, a time when black citizens quietly celebrated civil rights wins and white supremacists desperately tried to halt legislative and social change. ( KTVE/KARD) According to the Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office, on Monday, May 16, 2022, deputies received information from Monroe Police Department detectives about a person. According to the Concordia Parish Sheriffs Office, on April 25, 2021, at around 9:30 p.m., they were called to a residence on Lake St. John about a shooting. "[2], On November 1920, 1967, two confidential sources described the same November meeting in which Morace, Jones, Torgersen, and Scarborough implicated themselves in the murder of Morris. Updated: Aug 18, 2021 / 01:29 PM CDT. The creation of the Deacons groups is outlined in a 606-page FBI file released through the Freedom of Information Act to the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication Cold Case Project, which investigates Klan activities. Another has been arrested on a second-degree murder charge Tuesday in relation to a fatal shooting that took place Sunday afternoon in broad daylight in Ferriday. He said the bureau concluded that if the bombs two sticks of blasting powder would have ignited, the house might have been destroyed. According to FBI documents, Ferriday Deacons included David Whatley, Leo Graham, Victor Graham, Herman Brown, Levado Brown, Richard Thompson, Samuel White, Frank Fleming, James Fleming, Fred Brown, Shine Calhoun, Stafford Redvine, FNU Jones, Anthony Lucky McCraney, Simon Smith, Antonne Duncan, Lionel Hooper, Vernon Smith, Anthony White, Joe Davis, Jeffrey Scott, Mack Moore and Johnny Lloyd. No subscription required to play. The City of Ferriday hit a dead end with the case, and the sheriff's Department expressed no interest in taking it over.[6]. Two suspects were identified in FBI documents as members of the Silver Dollar Group, a Klan offshoot believed responsible for Morris murder and seven others in Louisiana and Mississippi over a three-year period. [2] The FBI had received information that local law enforcement officials had been involved. UPDATE: Ferriday man charged with murder in Sunday afternoon fatal Autopsies for Theriots parents were scheduled for Tuesday, Webre said. A 20-year-old male and 26-year-old female were killed by apparent gunshot wounds. Every journalism student in America should be making a pilgrimage to Ferriday, Louisiana, on this date to sit at the feet of and learn from Stanley Nelson, 59-year-old Editor of the Concordia Sentinel, a small weekly newspaper (circulation about 5,000) that serves up mostly local news, wedding announcements, obituaries and sports to the residents of On May 20, 2005, the decomposed body of 28-year-old Loretta Lynn Chaisson Lewis was fished out of a canal on the outskirts of Jennings, in the Jefferson Davis Parish of southwest Louisiana. Whatley also was at a great risk for Klan attacks because CORE workers were housed in his grandmothers home, where he also lived. Were still trying to piece together all of the details as to what transpired, King said. In February1968, the second investigation was closed when the FBI determined that there was insufficient evidence to charge any of the suspects. ", "We know what happened here. Two WHARBOM informants also reported information regarding the murder of Morris, and the FBI reopened the Morris investigation in August 1967. The sheriffs office says the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide and that there are no suspects at large. Two white CORE members, who practiced the non-violent approach championed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were beaten. The Deacons connection to churches inspired the groups name. [2] In 2008, the FBI, through local media, informed the public that they were offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the Morris case. Ridgen, a filmmaker from Toronto who reported this story for NPR, helped to spearhead the project with Vancouver-based Paperny Films, and the Berkeley, Calif.-based Center for Investigative Reporting. UPDATE: Joint investigation leads to arrest of Ferriday man involved in Our effort here, as it is everywhere, is to try and uncover the truth. Investigators say the people involved were 19 and 20-years-old. FERRIDAY, La. He was killed when the shop burned down in 1964. The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations is currently investigating an officer-involved shooting that took place in Ferriday on Sunday night. The population of Adams County was split roughly in half between blacks and whites. [2] Three new subjects were identified, but the investigators did not uncover any credible physical evidence supporting the allegations. ranks 6th in nation for best home security, SPD reports low home burglary count, Louisiana Cancer Research center expanding its research opportunities, KNOE Monday Evening Forecast with Chief Meteorologist Marcus Walter. There were two children, ages 1 and 7, in the Ernests home when the killing occurred, but they were unharmed and eventually went to a neighbors home for help, Ard said. Jonesboro Deacon and evangelist preacher Frederick Douglas Kirkpatrick told the FBI they chose to call the group the Deacons because that indicated it was for the good of all people. ranks 6th in nation for best home security, SPD reports low home burglary count, Louisiana Cancer Research center expanding its research opportunities, KNOE Monday Evening Forecast with Chief Meteorologist Marcus Walter. The FBI later concluded that the local Klan was likely to be involved, but conflicting accounts, no viable subjects, and lack of a motive led to the investigation being closed in May1965. Ferriday policemen, including "DeLaughter, Bill Ogden, and Ferriday Police Chief Bob Warren", had ordered an unidentified witness to "keep his mouth shut", and later told him to "get out of town". [citation needed], Ferriday is located in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Adams County, Mississippi. This business serviced both black and white customers. Although both the Deacons and its younger subgroup were secretive, they let members of the black community know they would protect them from the Klan and law enforcement. The building was burned down in the early morning of December 10, 1964. According to investigators, on the night of the murder Frederick McCray Jr. gave a ride to the two suspects. Klansmen took advantage of this, throwing a bomb just outside Whatleys bedroom window. Ferriday Police are investigating a suspected murder-suicide that happened Wednesday afternoon. Check out these great suggestions. No charges have been brought despite three FBI investigations. They quickly gave chase, pursuing the yellow Pontiac for several miles before Duncan watched their headlights start fading away. That was not the only time Whatley helped an imprisoned black man in Ferriday. Two charged with murder after Natchez teacher killed in - KNOE 4/23/2021 7:14 AM PT. Soon, Lewis was back in his Ferriday home and reunited with his wife and children. In Ferriday, La., an 'outlaw town,' the Deacons took a stand FERRIDAY, La. Although acknowledging he was hesitant, Judge John Reeves recused himself Thursday from conducting a hearing for a convicted Ferriday murderer who has spent the past 10 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Our sincere condolences are offered to his family, friends, and coworkers.. Ard said that investigators believe Theriot had been living with the Ernest family for two weeks, and that the killings happened a short time after Theriot rode with Billy Ernest to drop his wife off at work and they returned to the home. (WLBT) - According to Gray station KNOE, authorities in Concordia Parish, Louisiana are investigating the murder of a man recently named Teacher of the Year. We will continue to update this story with more information as it develops. Sons of Klansmen tied to Louisiana murder haunted by sins of their fathers. Ard has said that Theriot left the Ernests' home in Livingston Parish in Billy Ernests pickup truck on the morning of the killings and that he was in the same vehicle when he was arrested in Virginia. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. One such informant, known as Orvin C. "Coonie" Poissot, was a Klansman from Texas who had a relationship with a local sheriff's deputy named Frank Delaughter, whom Poissot implicated as a conspirator in the murder of Frank Morris. Until now, the case has gone unsolved. The Natchez-Adams School District released the following statement: Mr. Frank Morris (in the apron and visor) is seen standing in front of his shoe shop in Ferriday, La., in the 1950s. Later on, Anthony Lucky McCraneys gas station was firebombed, marking the sixth act of racial violence in Ferriday within a two-month period, according to CORE documents. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Friday morning. Donnie Sanders III, 24, is charged with second-degree murder. [6] Ferriday Police officer William Howell Harp Jr. alleged that Morris was a bootlegger and sold narcotics. Born in Jonesboro before spreading most notably to Bogalusa, Homer and Ferriday, the Deacons main purpose was to fight fire with fire and to protect their communities. [2], Stanley Nelson, an award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist, published Devils Walking: Klan Murders along the Mississippi in the 1960s, after a series of articles in the Concordia Sentinel. [according to whom?] James Poissot of Baton Rouge never knew his father, but knew he was a violent man who beat James' mother so severely . FERRIDAY, La. Silver Dollar Group - Wikipedia These men had long been outraged by one horrid memory the 1964 arson murder of Ferriday shoe shop owner Frank Morris.No one was ever arrested for the killing. "We've got a better picture on how this happened. CPSO says upon arrival, they found two bodies with fatal gunshot wounds. No one was hurt during the arrest, Ard said. 2021-09-07. The suspect had been living with the Ernest family for a couple of weeks before the killings, Ard has said. "I dont know what was going through a 7-year-olds mind, but I know it was a lot, so I would imagine that was we know that's why it took so long.". Now, 46 years later, Stanley Nelson, the editor of the Concordia Sentinel newspaper, says he has found information that may implicate a man as a member of a Klan "wrecking crew," which is said by sources Nelson has interviewed to be responsible for burning down the shop.

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