A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that will lead to an arrest in the New Year’s Eve killing of a Mississippi man.
Greene County Sheriff Stanley McLeod joined Lori Massey, head of Mississippi Coast Crimestoppers, state troopers and sheriff’s deputies at a news conference Thursday to announce the reward in the slaying of Cameron Perryman, 33.
Perryman was shot to death and his body dumped in a wooded area at the edge of De Soto National Park in Greene County. A hunter found the body Jan. 1, The Sun Herald reported.
“He was my only son,” Otis Perryman told the newspaper before the news conference. “We miss him terribly and we just want justice for his death.”
Perryman’s family said his vehicle wasn’t working New Year’s Eve and he was trying to catch a ride from the Benndale community to his mother’s home in Beaumont, Texas. They believe, based on conversations in the community and with law enforcement, that he was killed during a robbery in the Benndale area and his body dumped at the park.
McLeod said Perryman may have been robbed, but that investigators are still trying to determine exactly what happened. He said specific details that are known, such as whether the victim had any defense wounds, are not being released publicly.
McLeod and George County deputies encouraged the public to provide any tips.
State Rep. Douglas McLeod, who was also at the news conference, recalled Perryman as a young man who worked for him at McLeod Tire Service off and on for a few years beginning at the age of 15. He described him as a hard-working man and called his killing “a senseless death” that needs to be solved.
In the meantime, the Perryman family is urging the public to help if they can.
“We won’t stop fighting for answers,” said Karlene Moody, Perryman’s cousin. “We just want some kind of closure so we can rest right.”
To report confidential tips, call Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898.