WOMAN JAILED FOR LIFE AFTER KILLING SON AND HIDING BODY BEHIND FALSE WALL

Jerri Roby, 69, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday for the murder of her son John Gaither in Gulfport, Mississippi in December 2023. Gaither's body was discovered behind a false wall in Roby's home during a search by investigators. According to the Gulfport Police Department, Roby repeatedly provided false information about her son's whereabouts as authorities searched for him following a missing persons report filed by Gaither's brother, who had not seen the 42-year-old for approximately one week.

Roby initially told police that Gaither had travelled to Louisiana by Uber to purchase a car, a claim that records showed was false. As the search continued, Gaither's father and stepmother received a letter purporting to be from him, stating he had travelled to the Philippines to meet a woman. Family members later reported receiving suspicious text messages claiming to be from Gaither in early January 2024. Autopsy records showed that Gaither had been shot in the back of the head. The Gulfport Police Department stated that Roby had been arrested and convicted of murder in Florida around 1995, information which prompted detectives to obtain a search warrant for her residence.

Investigators conducted a search of the property on 18 January 2024, during which they discovered Gaither's body. The Gulfport Police Department noted in a January 2024 statement that Roby had made several attempts to dispose of the deceased at different locations throughout Florida in connection with her previous conviction. The case concluded with Roby's conviction and life sentence on Wednesday.