Willie Cory Godbolt: Shootings, Trial, and Appeals

Willie Cory Godbolt is a Mississippi man sentenced to death for killing eight people, including a sheriff’s deputy, during a shooting rampage across three homes in Lincoln County on the night of May 27–28, 2017. The killings grew out of a custody dispute with his estranged wife, Sheena. A jury convicted him on all twelve counts in February 2020, and he is currently on death row at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. In April 2026, his attorneys filed a petition for post-conviction relief arguing he is intellectually disabled and cannot be executed.¹

What Happened in May 2017

Godbolt and Sheena May had been together for seventeen years, seven of them married. At trial, Sheena testified that Godbolt had physically abused her throughout the marriage. Their daughter, My’Khyiah, told the jury her father “always used to beat me with a bat.”² By spring 2017, Sheena had left and was staying with her mother and stepfather, Barbara and Vincent Mitchell, on Lee Drive in Bogue Chitto.³

On the evening of May 27, Godbolt texted Sheena that he wanted his family intact. She told him she no longer wanted to be with him and would call the police if he came over. Earlier that day, after dropping off the couple’s two children at the Mitchell home, he had told them he would “die or kill before he let them stay with anybody else.”²

The violence that followed moved across three locations over roughly seven hours, from about 11 p.m. on May 27 to just after 6 a.m. on May 28.

Lee Drive, Bogue Chitto

Godbolt went to the Mitchell home to take his children. Sheena called 911, and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy William Durr, 36, was dispatched. When Durr asked Godbolt to leave, he turned as if to comply, then pulled a concealed handgun and shot the deputy in the face. Forensic evidence at trial showed Durr survived the first shot and tried to crawl away before Godbolt shot him two more times. Durr’s service weapon was never drawn. Godbolt then killed three women inside the home: Brenda May, 53, and Tocarra May, 35, in the kitchen, and Barbara Mitchell, 55, in the living room. Sheena escaped with her children through a bedroom window and fled into the woods.²

Coopertown Road, Brookhaven

Godbolt kidnapped Lapeatra Stafford at gunpoint and forced her to drive him. He later also took his friend Marvin Brumfield. He had Stafford drive to the Coopertown Road home of Shon and Tiffany Blackwell, friends of Sheena, where he shot through the door and killed Jordan Blackwell, 18, and Austin Edwards, 11, who were cousins. He then kidnapped a minor, Xavier Lilly, at gunpoint.²

East Lincoln Road, Brookhaven

Godbolt forced Lilly to drive him to the home of Ferral Burage, 45, and Sheila Burage, 46, close family friends of both Godbolt and Sheena. A friend of Sheila’s, Angela Hardy, was on the phone with her and testified she heard Sheila ask her husband who was at the door, followed by a gunshot.⁴ Godbolt shot through the door and killed both Ferral and Sheila. Ferral returned fire and struck Godbolt before dying.²

At 6:17 a.m. on May 28, deputies found Godbolt standing off the road near the Burage home and took him into custody.²

The Eight People Killed

Deputy William Durr, 36, Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy, shot while responding to the domestic call at the Mitchell home.
Barbara Mitchell, 55, Sheena’s mother.
Brenda May, 53, Sheena’s aunt.
Tocarra May, 35, Sheena’s sister.
Jordan Blackwell, 18, a Brookhaven High School student.
Austin Edwards, 11, a Lipsey School student and Jordan’s cousin.
Ferral Burage, 45, a close family friend.
Sheila Burage, 46, Ferral’s wife and also a close family friend.

What Godbolt Said After the Arrest

Clarion Ledger reporter Therese Apel reached the scene after an anonymous tip and recorded ten videos over about thirty minutes while Godbolt sat handcuffed on the roadside with officers nearby. She identified herself twice as a journalist.⁵ In the recordings, Godbolt stated his motive: “Because I love my wife and I love my children.” About Deputy Durr, he said, “I’m sorry. My pain wasn’t designed for him. He was just there.”² He told Apel his intention had been “suicide by cop,” saying, “I ain’t fit to live, not after what I done.”¹

The 2020 Trial and Death Sentence

Godbolt’s trial took place in February 2020, nearly three years after the killings. Jury selection was held in DeSoto County from February 10–14 because of the intense local attention, and the trial itself was moved to the Pike County Courthouse in Magnolia, with Circuit Judge David Strong presiding.²

The State’s case was handled by attorneys from the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and District Attorney Dee Bates. Prosecutors relied on testimony from Sheena, from the couple’s daughter, from the kidnapping survivors, and from responding officers, along with ballistics and DNA evidence from all three scenes, 911 recordings, and Apel’s arrest-scene videos. Sheena’s divorce from Godbolt had been finalized the week before she took the stand.⁶

Godbolt’s defense team, including attorneys Alison Steiner and Katherine Poor, argued he “snapped” out of fear for his daughter’s safety and was trying to keep his family together.⁷ The defense also sought to exclude Apel’s videos, arguing she may have functioned as a “state actor.” Judge Strong rejected that argument after hearing officers’ testimony, finding that Apel had identified herself as media and that Godbolt spoke to her willingly.⁵

On February 25, 2020, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all twelve counts: four counts of capital murder (for Deputy Durr, Jordan Blackwell, Austin Edwards, and Sheila Burage), four counts of first-degree murder (Tocarra May, Brenda May, Barbara Mitchell, and Ferral Burage), two counts of kidnapping (Lapeatra Stafford and Xavier Lilly), one count of attempted murder (Deputy Tim Kees), and one count of armed robbery. On February 27, the jury sentenced Godbolt to death for each of the four capital murder convictions. He received life sentences for the four first-degree murder counts, for the attempted murder of Deputy Kees, and for the kidnapping of Lilly, along with two twenty-year terms for the Stafford kidnapping and the armed robbery.⁸

Appeals

On direct appeal, Godbolt raised nineteen issues before the Mississippi Supreme Court. His central arguments were that the twelve counts should have been severed into separate trials, that the venue transfer was insufficient to ensure a fair trial, and that the jury included a disproportionate number of people with law enforcement connections.⁹ On March 7, 2024, the court affirmed all convictions and sentences, holding that the crimes were a continuous chain of events, that the venue arrangement was within the trial court’s discretion, and that the selected jurors had confirmed they could be fair and impartial.² Presiding Justice Leslie King, joined by Justice Jim Kitchens, dissented, arguing the case should have been reversed over the selection of jurors with law enforcement ties in a case where two of the victims were officers.

On April 28, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Godbolt’s case (No. 24-6257).¹⁰ His petition had challenged the admission of prior domestic violence evidence, Sheena’s testimony against him, the joinder of charges, and the admission of Apel’s videos.¹¹

The Pending Intellectual Disability Petition

In June 2025, Godbolt was transported from death row back to Lincoln County for a hearing before Judge Strong on whether he was indigent and wanted counsel appointed for post-conviction proceedings, as required by Mississippi law.⁸

On April 21, 2026, his attorneys filed a petition for post-conviction relief with the Mississippi Supreme Court.¹ The central claim invokes the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, which bars the execution of intellectually disabled people. The petition relies on a post-conviction evaluation by Dr. Robert Ouaou, who administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (fifth edition) and recorded a Full Scale IQ of 75. Under Mississippi precedent, an IQ of 75 or below falls within the range of potential intellectual disability once the standard error of measurement is accounted for. Dr. Ouaou concluded that Godbolt meets the criteria for intellectual disability under both the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the DSM-5.¹²

The petition also asserts that Godbolt has post-traumatic stress disorder and an unspecified psychotic disorder, citing evaluations by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Shawn Agharkar and psychologist Dr. Malcolm Woodland. Neurological screenings reported impairments in executive functioning, memory, and expressive language. His attorneys argue that none of this evidence was investigated or presented at trial, which they say constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel during both the guilt and penalty phases. They are asking the court either to reverse the convictions and death sentences outright or to grant an evidentiary hearing.¹³ As of the April 2026 filing, the court had not ruled, and no execution date has been set. Godbolt, now 43, remains on death row at Parchman.¹

1
Clarion Ledger. Willie Cory Godbolt Wants Mississippi Supreme Court to Reverse Death Penalty Conviction
2
FindLaw. Godbolt v. State of Mississippi
3
The Daily Leader. Cory Godbolt’s Ex-Wife Testifies in Day 2 of His Capital Murder Trial
4
WLBT. Godbolt’s Brother Shares Emotional Testimony at Day of Trial
5
Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Judge: Man’s ‘I’m Sorry’ Video Can Be Used in Murder Trial
6
The Daily Record. Daughter of Mississippi Man Accused of Killing 8 Describes His Abuse
7
WLBT. Willie Cory Godbolt’s Former Wife Takes Stand Day Two Testimony
8
The Daily Leader. Death Row Inmate to Return to Lincoln County for Hearing on Ability to Pay
9
WLBT. High Court Upholds Conviction of Mississippi Man Who Killed Eight People
10
WAPT. U.S. Supreme Court Denies Writ of Certiorari for Willie Cory Godbolt
11
The Daily Leader. U.S. Supreme Court Denies Bogue Chitto Murderer’s Case Review Petition
12
WJTV. Willie Cory Godbolt Petition for Post-Conviction Relief
13
WAPT. Death Row Inmate Seeks to Overturn Conviction and Sentence in Mississippi Supreme Court Filing