Gwin Sharpe is still trying to make sense of the slaying of his father, while the investigation by Holmes County authorities is now more than six weeks old and has yet to yield an arrest.
“It has devastated me,” Sharpe said. “I don’t understand. Everyone in Tchula loved my dad. He didn’t have any enemies in Tchula, and I don’t think he had any enemies anywhere.”
Paul Sharpe, a 61-year-old retired farmer, was found dead Nov. 1 in the kitchen area of his home near Tchula from what authorities have described as blunt force trauma to the head. They believe the body may have been there a few days before it was found.
His death is being investigated as a homicide.
Holmes County Sheriff Willie March said there is one suspect. March said he is waiting on results from evidence submitted to the Mississippi Crime Laboratory for analysis.
Gwin Sharpe, who lives in Lexington, is convinced the killer is someone whom his father knew, as there was no sign of forced entry at the house.
“It is just weird,” said Gwin Sharpe. “He obviously knew who the person was because he was obsessed with having the doors locked.”
He said he didn’t think his father had any enemies. Paul Sharpe “gave out hugs and kisses on the cheek like other people give out handshakes,” the son said.
“He never met a stranger. If someone was walking down the street, he would offer them a ride. He was so outgoing and very adventurous.”
Paul Sharpe, a Tchula native, graduated from Cruger-Tchula Academy in 1974. He earned a general business degree at Mississippi State University and then moved back to his hometown, where he worked on the family farm with his brothers for nearly 20 years.
He and his former wife, Paula, had two sons: Gwin and Elliott.
Gwin said some of his favorite childhood memories were going to Mississippi State games with his father. Paul Sharpe was also known to enjoy the outdoors and being in the sun. He loved the Lord and Elliott’s daughter, Karigen, said Gwin Sharpe.
Lauren Ray, a family friend, said that Paul Sharpe was deeply rooted in Tchula. It “was kind of a part of his heart,” she said. “That is where he was born and raised, and that is where the whole family is from.”
Rayna Runnels, Gwin Sharpe’s girlfriend, said that Paul Sharpe’s death is hard to fathom.
“It is truly crazy. He loved life as far as I knew, and he loved to have fun. He enjoyed his family more than anything,” she said.
•Contact Lauren Randall at 581-7239 or lrandall@gwcommonwealth.com.
