This writer is rarely flustered by any story that comes out of the 'true crime' arena, but this one is odd. 215 unclaimed bodies (yes, two hundred and fifteen, you read that correctly) were recently discovered in a field of shallow, unmarked graves behind the Hinds County Jail in Jackson, MS.
215 people were buried in the pauper’s cemetery behind a jail in Mississippi without notification of their relatives
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 6, 2024
Some said they were surprised when told that they have to “buy back” the remains of their loved ones in order to give them a proper burial https://t.co/kToDP4n1vX
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has called for an inquiry into this on behalf of the family members and loved ones of the deceased.
Now, there are actually 672 total graves, but 215 burials between the years 2016-2023 where no notification was given to the families. The county coroner's office, in a request by NBC News for public records, stated that 'records before 2016 could not be located'. It seems the field had originally been used as basically a pauper's cemetery for families that couldn't afford burial services. As for some of the bodies, three had been identified and it turns out, their families were searching them for the whole time.
Prisoners incarcerated in the Hinds County Jail were the ones made to bury the bodies, and there is a fee to reclaim the body of your loved ones. Talk about adding insult to injury ...
Yes, 215 bodies were found buried behind a prison, and many of them were written off as John Doe, including Dexter Wade, who was run over by police and buried in this grave. His mother had been searching for him since March.
— Jo Jorgensen (@JoForLiberty) January 11, 2024
When exhumed, his wallet with ID and insurance card… https://t.co/xrsxk9LHbr
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The full text of the post reads as such:
"Yes, 215 bodies were found buried behind a prison, and many of them were written off as John Doe, including Dexter Wade, who was run over by police and buried in this grave. His mother had been searching for him since March. When exhumed, his wallet with ID and insurance card was in his pocket. He was NOT a John Doe. Mr. Wade is just 1 of 215. This is yet another example of why you DO NOT give the state more power."
The 215 were the ones that remained unclaimed and families were not notified, NBC News had obtained the records and released the names quietly, which you can find here.
A man named Dexter Wade, 37, who was buried in grave 672, had been struck and killed by an off-duty police officer, but the Jackson Police Department claimed they were unable to identify him until a few days later when the medical examiner found medication in his pocket. Dexter's mother had reported him missing on March 14th, 2023, a week after the accident occurred. She was not informed of his death until August 24th. She was then charged a $250 to reclaim the rights to his remains. Jackson PD claimed there was no 'ill-intent' found in their delay to notify his family.
Jonathan David Hankins, 39, was last seen by his mother when he informed her that he was going to meet some friends for the weekend. When he wasn't home on Sunday for dinner, his mother filed a missing persons report. She was never informed that her son had been found dead on May 23, 2022 which was only three days after he had left home. Every few weeks for over a year, his mother touched base with the police department. Despite having identified him rather quickly, both the coroner's office and Jackson PD failed to tell her. He was buried in grave 645.
A third man, 40-year-old Marrio Moore, was beaten to death on February 2nd, 2023, but his family had no idea until they came across the NBC News article listing the unclaimed bodies. According to police reports, he had been bludgeoned to death, wrapped in a tarp, and left on the street. NBC reports that his body remained unclaimed in the morgue for months until he was finally buried in the pauper's cemetery. Evidence compiled by NBC shows that Jackson PD made attempts to contact his family, but the family feels they didn't do enough to get in touch with them. They are adamant that they would have claimed his body if they had been notified. He was killed in February, buried in July, and his family had no idea until October. His mother also paid the $250 fee to reclaim him, plus another $500 to have him exhumed.
Kinda wild that nobody’s talking about how they found over 200 bodies buried behind Jackson Mississippi prison 🤦🏽♀️ OVER 200
— 𝔈𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔦 ℌ𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔭𝔬𝔭𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔬𝔰 🏹 (@ezh_96) January 10, 2024
While there are reports out there from mainstream outlets, there is really not much to be found regarding this story on their social media accounts or shows. This writer, for one, had not even heard about this story until stumbling upon it purely by accident. On a true crime TikTok account, no less.
People took to X to voice their shock and anger over this.
It's deeply saddening that 215 people were buried without notifying their families in Mississippi. Requiring families to 'buy back' remains for a proper burial adds unnecessary hardship to an already difficult situation.🥹💔
— Kiran Fatima (@fatimaaaaaahhh) January 6, 2024
"Buy back"!??? The way I would have lawyered up and sued the ever-living day lights out of that place. The nerve.
— Keigh (@IVEgotUforever) January 7, 2024
We are right there with you on that.
I’m shocked this story isn’t getting more national attention, this is abhorrent! https://t.co/q4tTGqxhtW
— Alex (@AAW9573) January 12, 2024
No words… https://t.co/2Q1hz9Rvqx pic.twitter.com/65hVGu6gnt
— JDH (@jdhthegr8t) January 6, 2024
Same. We here at Twitchy offer our sincerest condolences to these families. We can only hope that you find your loved ones and are able to lay them to rest with the dignity that they deserve.
If you believe you may have a loved one in this field, or you saw a name that you believe is a loved one, you can contact the Hinds County Coroner's Office for more information.
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