A cash reward for information about the murder of Leflore County resident Pass Taylor Jr. has been increased to $16,500, according to Sheriff Ricky Banks.
“The county put forth $2,500, Crime Stoppers offered $1,000 and the rest has come from friends of Taylor,” Banks said.
Anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of individuals involved in the murder is eligible for the reward and can remain anonymous, Banks said.
Taylor’s body was found Aug. 2 in his rural home on County Road 249 between Phillipston and Sidon, about a half-mile from the Mathews Brake National Wildlife Refuge.
The 83-year-old former game warden led hunting parties in the area and rented property to hunters.
According to Banks, a tenant had knocked on Taylor’s door but couldn’t rouse him and called the sheriff’s office.
Intruders had tried to set the interior of the home on fire, but the fire smoldered and extinguished itself, leaving the inside scorched and blackened with smoke, according to authorities.
Taylor had been seen last by visitors on July 30, setting the time of death some time between that evening and three days later when his body was found.
Coroner Debra Sanders said the cause of death, to be determined by autopsy at the Mississippi State Crime Lab, is still pending.
Banks said Taylor’s death is being investigated as a murder related to the robbery of his home, from which it is believed both money and guns were taken.
A robbery a couple of years earlier at Taylor’s home also revolved around money and guns, Banks said.
The two individuals convicted in that case, though, remain incarcerated, according to Banks.
Investigators have questioned a number of people who live in the nearby community but no suspects have been identified, he said.
County Road 249 is not frequently used by people who don’t live there except during hunting season, Banks said. He said none of the residences on the road have security cameras, so no video record of comings and goings is available to investigators.
Banks urges anyone who saw a strange vehicle in the area around the time of the slaying, or who has information about anyone who might be connected to the case, to contact the sheriff’s office at 453-5141 or Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
