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Man says he 'ain't fit to live' after allegedly killing 8, including deputy

By Allen Cone
Willie Corey Godbolt alllegedly killed eight people, including a deputy and family members of his estranged wife. Photo courtesy of Mississippi Department of Public Safety
1 of 3 | Willie Corey Godbolt alllegedly killed eight people, including a deputy and family members of his estranged wife. Photo courtesy of Mississippi Department of Public Safety

May 28 (UPI) -- A man was taken into custody after he allegedly killed eight people, including a deputy and family members of his estranged wife, authorities in Mississippi said Sunday morning.

Willie Corey Godbolt, 35, told a Clarion-Ledger reporter while handcuffed and sitting on the ground after he was arrested: "Death ... Suicide by cop was my intention. I ain't fit to live. Not after what I've done."

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Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing said Godbolt was captured before 7 a.m. at Super Jack's truck stop in Brookhaven. He was charged with one count of capital murder and seven counts of first-degree murder.

Godbolt fled after killing the victims late Saturday at three homes in Bogue Chitto and Brookhaven in rural Lincoln County, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said. The area is about 68 miles south of Jackson, the state capital.

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Around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Sheriff's Deputy William Durr, 36, responded to a call of a resident wanting the suspect removed from the property in Bogue Chitto, Rushing said.

The deputy was killed there. Family members told the WAPT-TV the mother, aunt and sister of Godbolt's estranged wife were slain. Godbolt's wife and children escaped, according to a relative.

About 10 miles north, two juveniles were shot and killed at another residence in Brookhaven, which family members said is the residence of Godbolt's pastor. The shooting occurred between midnight and 5 a.m.

At the third house, the sister of Goldbolt's wife and her husband were killed, family members said.

Goldbolt told a Clarion-Ledger reporter he killed them because he loved his wife and children.

"We was talking about me taking my children and her sister and auntie called the police," Godbolt told Clarion-Ledger reporter Therese Apel. "I was having a conversation with her step-daddy and her mama and her, my wife, about me taking my children home. Somebody called the officer. People who didn't even live at the house, but that's what they do. They intervene. It [cost] him his life. I'm sorry."

"My pain wasn't designed for him. He was just there," Godbolt said of the deputy.

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Godbolt was transported to a Jackson hospital for wounds he sustained when he was shot by someone inside one of the homes.

Godbolt has a criminal history dating back to 2005, according to arrest records, including charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, simple assault and driving with a suspended license.

Durr, married and the father of an 11-year-old son, worked two years for the Sheriff's Department and previously for four years at the Brookhaven Police Department.

"I ask all Mississippians to join Deborah and me in praying for those lost in Lincoln County," Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. "Every day, the men and women who wear the badge make some measure of sacrifice to protect and serve their communities. Too often, we lose one of our finest. I thank the law enforcement agencies involved for their hard work. May the peace of the Almighty wash over those hurting after this senseless tragedy."

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