Death marked 4th summer murder

It’s been a deadly summer in Covington County, as the death of an area man Friday marked the fourth murder in Covington County in 62 days.

June 2 was the date on which deputies were called to Soggy Bottom Tavern at 1:59 a.m. and found Zadarios Arlyic McCaskill, 22, dead of an apparent gunshot wound to the chest. The establishment is located on County Road 21 in Red Level. No arrests have been made.

In the wee hours of the morning of Wednesday, June 20, deputies noticed a car had been burned at a residence on Brooklyn Road. They found the body of Bruce Nelson was found near the vehicle. Both the sheriff’s department and the state fire marshal investigated, as there also had been a fire inside the mobile home.

Investigators determined Nelson had been stabbed and shot, and they have interviewed a person of interest, but no arrests have been made.

On July 13, the Opp Police Department found the body of an Elba man, Louis Swinger, who had been missing for a week. Four individuals were charged in his death. They included Bomaro V. Head, Dayshawn D. Siler, Kali Jamar Siler and Kenyatta Carstarphen. Each was charged with murder and held on a $500,000 bond.

Investigators believe he was shot and killed in an apartment on Hardage Circle, and his body was later hidden in the woods.

Yesterday, the Covington County Sheriff’s Department began a fourth murder investigation when a 911 caller reported that J.J. Mount died near Hayslette Bridge on Oakey Streak Road after two suspects came out of the woods and shot him. Sheriff Dennis Meeks expected arrests last night or this morning, but those had not been confirmed when The Star-News went to press Friday night.

There were two additional murders on the Butler County side of the Covington/Butler line on June 2. The bodies for Cortez Dees and Luman Williams, both of Evergreen were found in Garland on Dilly Hill Road. A vehicle belonging to one of the victims was found burning just off I-65. No arrests have been made in those deaths, either.

–Michele Gerlach