Family of slain LGBT Mississippi mayoral candidate hires attorney in Trayvon Martin case
theGRIO REPORT - Nearly three months after the battered body of Clarksdale, Miss. mayoral candidate Marco Watson McMillian was found dumped in a field, his parents have hired Parks and Crump...
“They had to identify their son from a picture on a cell phone in a body bag zipped up to his face,” Lettman-Hicks said. “In a little tiny town like that, they didn’t have the decency to send the sheriff’s car over to pick up the family to bring them to the morgue to identify their only child. Once the body was turned over to the funeral home they were able to prepare it for burial. But in terms of identification to see what his original state was and to deal with the sanctity and respect to the family of finding their loved one who was reported missing, deceased, there was absolutely no compassion.”
Unger said McMillan’s vehicle was moved to a private location following the accident without her consent and notification. She had to retrieve the contents of the vehicle, including a set of keys to her home, from the tow service.
“Again, where is the decency?” Lettman-Hicks asked. “We black folks. We don’t operate like this especially in a little country town. This is a local community and this young man was running for mayor. This is a high-profile case. Where is just the human dignity? Where is the cardboard box? Or the Ziploc bag with his belongings being brought back to a grieving mother’s home, and the conversation, explanation or expression of grief and condolence and respect for a mother for her only child? Where’s the southern hospitality? I can’t even get beyond that. I mean, there isn’t anything illegal about that. But it is quite inhumane.”
Unger said in her letter that she had to ask the tow company for her son’s belongings. When asking about a certain item, one of the employees gave her a “surprised” look “and went in the office to retrieve the items.
“Was the tow company just helping themselves to his belongings?” Lettman-Hicks said. “If you’re going to return all my stuff, then give me my stuff. Don’t go in the back room and say, ‘Oh. Here it is.’ Why isn’t it together? Why isn’t it sealed up? Why isn’t it in an investigation bag? This is a murder scene. This is a crime scene. What if even Reed’s people want to defend him? Where’s the security of the evidence? Reed is the one that drove off in the car.”
The Coahoma County Justice Court confirmed Thursday that no attorney has been appointed for Reed.
Lettman-Hicks further said the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department failed to disclose information to McMillan’s family for fear they would leak the information to the news media.
“Are you kidding me? They’re the victims just as much as their deceased son,” she said. “We just want a proper investigation and we feel there is not enough objectivity in how law enforcement is pursuing this as more than what some are calling a domestic violence case.”
Rooker claimed they were trying to preserve the integrity of the investigation.
“We are preparing everything we need to get this ready for trial,” Rooker said. “This has been a multi-agency task to put this [case] together and we have a man in custody and we have charged him with the murder of Mr. McMillian.”
Rooker said he would not comment as to the allegations of the Unger family.
Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI), confirmed they were assisting the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department, but would not comment on the case.
Why they want the Feds involved
Lettman-Hicks said McMillan’s parents have questioned the thoroughness of the investigation because they have yet to be interviewed by any law enforcement agency in regard to this case.
“Marco lived with his family,” she said. “They have never come to the house to investigate anything, his computer, nothing. What was he doing leading up to his death? What was the condition of his household? Where is the investigation? These are the questions that [Parks] and the family have in terms of the level of investigation that’s representative of a murder. To me, they’re trying to blame the victim and trying to find anything to cast aspersion on his character. Marco McMillian had a tox[icology] screen after his death. Is there a tox screen report on the person who is in jail? I don’t understand that the person who is living claims to be the killer and we can’t get any information from him. I don’t want to see another story on black on black crime and all of sudden one’s in jail and one’s dead. Who cares? This is just unacceptable.”
Although Parks and Crumps recently settled a million-dollar wrongful death lawsuit for Trayvon Martin’s parents, Lettman-Hicks said this is not why she approached them to assist in this case.
“I have a 20-year history with them and we wanted some attorneys that were aggressive enough…civil rights minded and social justice minded that they were going to move law enforcement and legal processes for the family to get some answers. Lawyers are for justice. Not only for a paycheck and that’s where we are right now — trying to get justice for Marco.”
Monica Land is a theGrio contributor and a reporter for Mississippilink.com.
