Matthew Kidd: Rankin County Killings, Arrest, and Life Sentence

Matthew Brian Kidd, a 35-year-old man at the center of the Rankin County murders in Mississippi, pleaded guilty on September 9, 2025 to killing two men in the span of roughly 24 hours in late August. Rankin County Circuit Judge Dewey Arthur sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole for the capital murder of William Earl Morris and to a concurrent life term for the murder of Christian Storey.¹ From arrest to sentencing, the case took two weeks.

The Killing of William Earl Morris

The first shooting happened on or around August 26, 2025, at a home in the 3300 block of Highway 80, between Brandon and Pelahatchie. Kidd’s truck had broken down on Morris’s property, and when Kidd came back for it the two argued over items Kidd said Morris had taken from the vehicle. Morris gave him 24 hours to move the truck. In the days that followed, Kidd sent his ex-girlfriend text messages venting about Morris and saying he intended to “stir the pot.”²

Neighbors reported hearing about eight gunshots the evening of August 26. Friends who could not reach Morris climbed through a side window the next day and found him dead inside, shot multiple times. Investigators questioned Kidd but released him, saying they did not yet have enough to hold him.³

The Killing of Christian Storey

On August 28, Christian Storey was found shot dead at his home on Gayden Street in Brandon. Doorbell camera footage captured Kidd walking toward the residence around the time of the shooting, and investigators said he stole a firearm from Storey during the attack. Authorities said the killings were not drug-related but did not publicly detail a specific motive for the second shooting.⁴

Arrest at the Rodeway Inn

On the morning of August 29, a tip placed Kidd at the Rodeway Inn on Old Highway 80 in Brandon. Brandon police and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team served a search warrant and arrested him without incident. A weapon was recovered from his room.⁵

Kidd was already a convicted felon out of Alabama. Sheriff Bryan Bailey said the prior convictions included theft and felony fleeing, which meant Kidd was barred from possessing a firearm.³

Charges, Guilty Plea, and Sentence

Kidd was charged with capital murder in Morris’s death, murder in Storey’s death, and additional counts of burglary, breaking and entering an inhabited dwelling, home invasion, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The capital murder count reflected that Kidd forced his way into Morris’s home before shooting him.¹

District Attorney John Bramlett, whose district covers Madison and Rankin Counties, announced the September 9 plea and sentencing.⁶ Kidd will serve his sentence in a Mississippi Department of Corrections facility. Relatives of both victims spoke at the hearing; one called Kidd “a coward and a monster.”⁴

Who the Victims Were

William Earl “Billy” Morris was 36. He left behind two young sons who turned four the day of the guilty plea. Emily Swilley, the mother of his children, described him as “such a kind hearted, loving man” who “loved hard.”⁵

Christian Storey was 33 and lived in Brandon. He worked at Ramey’s and had been married to his wife, Hannah, for five years; they had a son, Tristen. His obituary remembered his kayaking on the Okatoma River and playing music with friends.⁷

1
WLBT. Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Two Men in Rankin County
2
Law & Crime. Man Said He Was Trying To Stir the Pot Before Committing Pair of Home Invasion Murders
3
WLBT. Suspect in Two Rankin County Homicides Scheduled for First Hearing
4
WAPT. Rankin County Man Indicted in Two Killings Expected To Plead Guilty, Possible Motive in Killing Revealed
5
WJTV. GoFundMe To Help Family of Man Killed in Rankin County
6
True Crime News. Man Sentenced for Kicking in the Doors of Two Men and Fatally Shooting Them
7
Legacy.com. Christian Matthew Storey Obituary