Sam Hollyday's News: Man Who Confessed To Murdering His Mom & Friend On Facebook Has Been Found Dead

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Man Who Confessed To Murdering His Mom & Friend On Facebook Has Been Found Dead

The man who confessed to fatally shooting his mother and friend in a Facebook post was reportedly found dead on Monday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police in Jasper County, Mississippi revealed that the body of Casey James Lawhorn (above) was found in Mississippi, where he was on the run after being sought as a suspect in the killings of Vi Lawhorn and Avery Gaines.

Authorities say the 23-year-old called 911 to confess to the shooting deaths on Sunday, telling officials he shot two people at a home in Tennessee before fleeing the scene. Lawhorn also told the dispatcher he was going to kill himself.

The suspect told officials he was headed to Mowbray Mountain, north of Chattanooga, but was later spotted southbound on I-59. His vehicle was found abandoned on the side of a highway in Jasper County on Sunday.

Aside from confessing to police, Lawhorn took to Facebook late Sunday afternoon to describe how he fatally shot his mom and a friend around 5 a.m. that morning. He wrote in a now-deleted post:

"Since so many people keep trying to reach out to me on Facebook, I figure I can just say my piece once here and be done with it. Before I start, I need to emphasize that I take full responsibility for my actions. Nothing anyone has or hasn't done to me caused this, my decisions and my failures are my own. Technical Details: This morning, at around 01:30, I shot and killed my mother (Vi Lawhorn) and a close friend of mine (Avery Gaines) with a stolen .22 LR."

Lawhorn shared graphic details about both deaths, saying Gaines died instantly after he was shot in the head while sleeping on the floor.

When he tried to shoot his mother in her room, however, his gun jammed. She was intoxicated and didn't seem to realize what had happened, he said, so he left the room to clear the jam and then went back in. Lawhorn said his mother was trying to comfort her dog Oscar when he shot her several times, until she died.

Lawhorn had no problem acknowledging how "unforgivable" his actions were and actually encouraged those who wanted to help his surviving brother Chad Lawhorn in the wake of this tragedy to "actually do something" about it instead of just sending their "thoughts and prayers."

He continued:

"Don't give me or my family your thoughts and prayers. No one will be hurt by this more than my brother (Chad Lawhorn). He will probably need a lot of help getting through this, and if you think you are helping him just by talking to the sky, you're fucking wrong. If you want to help him in this insanely difficult time I'm putting him through, actually do something, don't just think about it. I'm sorry to him more than anyone. That said, I don't want or need forgiveness from anyone. What I did is unforgivable. And prayer is a waste of time, nothing happens after death, but if there is a hell, I'm going to be in the lake of ice at the bottom."

Wait. "Actually do something" about it? Is this admitted shooter advocating for gun control? (Not that we're complaining. It's just odd.)

Lawhorn's post ended on an expectedly bleak note. He said he was looking forward to the "nothingness" after death, concluding:

"However, as I sit here in Mississippi, writing this on the side of I-59 south after my car broke down, what I look forward to is the nothingness after death. I've spent a lot of time thinking about murder, wondering what it feels like. But I've barely felt anything."

Chilling. Sending light and love to the victims' loved ones, whether their killer likes it or not.

[Image via Mississippi Department of Public Safety.]