Authorities still seeking killer in Mound Bayou alderman's stabbing death

Authorities in Mound Bayou are still trying to identify who stabbed former alderman Shedrick Stout to death in his home on Annyce Street, months after the New Year’s Eve killing. Stout was 49.

Police Chief Tony Warren said Stout was found around 8:50 p.m. on Dec. 31 in the bathroom of the house after suffering multiple stab wounds to the upper body and a fatal wound that pierced his heart. Warren said Stout had managed to call 911 from his bedroom before he died, giving investigators one of the clearest clues yet about his final moments.

Officers found no signs that the home had been forced open, but they did find signs of a struggle inside the residence. Stout’s car and truck were still parked where they normally would have been, and nothing appeared to be missing. Those details have left police without a public explanation for how the attacker got in or what the motive may have been.

Stout’s death carries weight in a town where civic leaders are often deeply familiar to residents. He had served on the Mound Bayou Town Board and had worked in a managerial role for Burger King in Clarksdale. Mound Bayou itself was founded in 1887 by formerly enslaved people led by Isaiah Montgomery, and the town had 1,534 residents in the 2020 census.

The Mound Bayou Police Department and the Bolivar County Sheriff’s Department are still asking for help from anyone who may know what happened inside the house that night. Crime Stoppers is offering rewards for useful information, and Burger King is also backing that effort. Bayou Region Crime Stoppers says anonymous tipsters can qualify for rewards of up to $1,000 if their information leads to an arrest or grand jury indictment.

No suspect has been named and no arrest has been announced, leaving one of the town’s most serious recent crimes unresolved as investigators continue to look for the person responsible.