Noxapater man found guilty of killing girlfriend

Evidence collected by the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office as well as testimony were presented during the trial of a man who was convicted last month on the Coast in the 2021 shooting death of his girlfriend there.

The man, Jeremy Childress, 48, was convicted by a Gulf Coast Jury on June 22 of murdering his 52-year-old girlfriend, Michelle Hester.

The Noxapater man in 2021 confessed in Neshoba County to killing his girlfriend in Harrison County hours after Neshoba County deputies were called to his mother’s home here for a disturbance.

Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark and Deputy J.W. Jenkins at the trial gave details of Childress’ initial confession and the circumstances of his arrest in Neshoba County in late August of 2021. 

Childress, who was 46 at the time, was arrested here following an early morning standoff with Neshoba County Sheriff’s deputies. They were responding to a disturbance call in the Bond community.

Clark said at the time that when they arrived on the scene they found Childress with a handgun talking about killing himself. Clark said that after a brief standoff they were able to get him to put his weapons down and take him into custody. At the time he was charged with public intoxication and disturbance of a family.

Clark said that while making the arrest Childress voluntarily confessed to murdering his girlfriend in Saucier in Harrison County.

“He stated that he had killed his girlfriend and driven up to see his mom before whatever happened, happened,” Clark said at the time, suggesting that Childress knew he would be arrested or he would kill himself.

Clark said his office then contacted the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and gave them details about the murder confession and where to find the body. He said that HCSO said that the information provided “checked out.”

“We did not have the crime scene here but we did have a lot of the elements,” Clark said at the time. “His information was spot on.”

Clark said his office recovered a .357 magnum and a .45 caliber Glock belonging to Childress as well as his truck.

Clark said all relevant information and evidence were turned over to or was shared with the HCSO and that they had deputies in town the day of the arrest for interviews with Childress. He was later transferred to HCSO custody.