Man pleads guilty in 2019 death

A Neshoba County man pleaded guilty last week to manslaughter in connection with a body found hanging from a tree near Canal Scrap in 2019.

The man, Jasper D. Sullivan, 36, of 10211 Road 383, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in circuit court on Wednesday, Nov. 2, District Attorney Steven Kilgore said.

Sullivan will serve 20 years as a habitual offender, according to Kilgore.

Sullivan was charged in September of 2020 after he confessed to the March 2019 murder of Harvey Vancleave, 52, according to Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark.

Vancleave’s body was found hanging from a tree near Canal Scrap just off the Highway 15 bypass.

Sullivan was the initial person of interest during the investigation. He was at the property when deputies were called to investigate the death of Wendy Johnson, 41, 11520 County Road 418, Union.

She was found dead inside a camper at Canal Scrap. The next day deputies returned to find Vancleave dead in a wooded area near the camper. 

Sullivan was brought back to Neshoba County in May from custody with the Mississippi Department of Corrections for questioning.

It was not until September that he confessed to killing Vancleave, Clark said at the time. Jail records show he was brought into Neshoba County custody around 3:25 p.m. on Sept. 7.

“He shared specific details about the Vancleave case,” Clark said at the time.

Former Sheriff Tommy Waddell said at the time of the alleged murder that the couple had been living together in the camper. 

The landowner went to check on them and found the woman’s body.