Mississippi woman charged with son’s murder. She reportedly hid his body in box behind false wall.
Published 7:02 am Sunday, January 21, 2024
A Mississippi woman previously convicted of murder in Florida nearly 30 years ago was arrested Saturday for the murder of her son after his body was discovered in a large wooden box hidden behind a false wall in her house.
WXXV News in Gulfport reports that Jerri Lynn Isreal, 66, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of John Allen Gaither, 42, her son.
Officers reportedly found Gaither’s body in a large wooden box described as a “military locker-style container.” The box was found behind a false wall in Israel’s Gulport house after police obtained a search warrant.
Police had been investigating reports of a possible missing person on 16th Avenue in Gulfport since Dec. 22.
The investigation led to Israel, who reportedly had been giving contradictory statements and had become increasingly uncooperative.
After police discovered that Israel had been convicted of murder in Florida in 1995 and had made several attempts at that time to dump the body in Florida, investigators obtained a warrant to search Israel’s house.
On the morning of Jan. 18, detectives searched the residence, where they found a body inside the large wooden, that was later identified as Gaither.
At the time of the search, Israel was transported to the hospital after reportedly consuming a large number of pills. She has since been arrested and transported to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center.