In The Dark Podcast Helps Solve 1996 Cold Case Of Four People Shot In Mississippi Furniture Store
Will Curtis Flowers be sentenced to death?
Mugshot Curtis Flowers is a man known for allegedly shooting and murdering four people execution style in a Tardy furniture store on July 16, 1996. That day $300 was also stolen from the store's register. Flowers has been tried six times for the murders, yet he still remains innocent. The case became well known and started getting the country's attention after it was covered during season two of the In The Dark podcast. Here's everything you need to know about the murder, the trials and who exactly committed them. Who is Curtis Flowers?
1. Who is Curtis Flowers?
According to Heavy.com, Curtis Flowers is a 49-year-old Winona, Mississippi native who is accused of committing the murders of four Tardy Furniture store employees. Friends of Flowers say he was a laid back kind of guy. They say he's not a motivated or ambitious person. His friend Michelle Milner said: "I’ve never seen him, you know, be angry or upset." Before the murders happened, Flowers was the lead singer in his dad's traveling gospel group. According to family and friends, it was his only hobby and he loved it.
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2. Murder Details
On the day of July 16, 1996 a murder took place at a Mississippi Tardy Furniture store. The murders took place around 9 a.m. when the work day was just beginning. The store's boss Sam walked into work that morning and saw the lights were on, but there were no employees in sight. That's when he discovered that all four of the employees had been shot dead in the back of the head and that $300 was stolen from the register. There were no witnesses to the murder and the crime went unsolved for months. Eventually police found a suspect, Curtis Flowers, and charged him with the murders. District Attorney Doug Evans believes Flowers was motivated by revenge. He previously worked at the furniture store, but was fired for trying to transport a truck full of batteries without securing the load.
3. Fair trials?
Since the 1996 murders, Flowers has been tried six times. He was convicted and sentenced to death multiple times, but according to the Washington Post, his latest trial was marred by improper discriminatory intent. Mississippi failed to provide Flowers with a fair trial by violating the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Mississippi Supreme Court ended up striking most Black people off the jury. Heavy.com says that along with that issue, District Attorney Doug Evans broke other rules too. He misstated facts and asked improper questions. In Flowers' most recent trial, they struck five of six black potential jurors.
4. Guilty or Innocent?
Even through his many trials were overturned, people still think Flowers is guilty of the murders. One of the victim's dad said: "Curtis Giovanni Flowers murdered those four people. There’s no doubt in my mind. I don’t care how many choirs he sang or nothing. I believe in tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye. And I think he needs to fry in hell, where he’s going." Many jurors from the previous trials think Flowers killed the four furniture store employees. They claim evidence showed he was guilty. However, due to his unfair trials, the Washington Post says: "it is not the Supreme Court’s responsibility to judge Mr. Flowers’s guilt".
Lauren Margolis is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture, entertainment news and relationship topics.