Ex-Mississippi lawmaker shot dead may have been targeted, husband says
A former Mississippi state lawmaker who was shot dead outside a burned-out trailer may have been killed to stop her from pursuing answers in the slaying of her sister-in-law at the same property, her husband said.
Ex-Rep. Ashley Henley, 40, had been determined to find out what happened to her sister-in-law Kristina Michelle Jones, who died in a suspicious fire at the trailer home in rural Yalobusha County on Dec. 26, news station Fox13 reported.
“If something would have been done sooner, my wife wouldn’t be dead,” her husband, Brandon Henley, told the outlet.
Brandon blamed authorities for the slow pace of the investigation into the trailer fire and said that he believes his wife was targeted Sunday for attempting to get answers in the case.
”[Her killers] knew that we were applying pressure and they were going to get rid of the pressure,” Henley told the outlet.
No suspects have been arrested in either of the women’s deaths.
But Brandon has vowed to get justice for both his wife and his sister, Jones.
”I am not going to go away, and I am going to find you,” Henley told the outlet.
”You don’t go after women. You don’t go after innocent people. It’s disgusting,” he said.
Assistant District Attorney Steven Jubera said both deaths are still under investigation.
It’s unclear whether foul play was involved in Jones’ death in the trailer fire.
”Yes it is suspicious, but the final ruling has not come back one way or the other,” Jubera told the outlet.
Former colleagues this week mourned Ashley, who was a teacher before she was elected as a Republican to the state House and served one term from 2016 to 2020.
“What an absolute loss to our state, county, me personally, and most importantly her dear family,” Republican state Rep. Dan Eubanks wrote on Facebook. “Please pray for her husband and son and their extended family….and that God’s justice will be served on those responsible.”
