A local murder case was dismissed in a Yazoo County Circuit Court this month. The family members of the accused murder contacted The Herald to express their relief that a chapter they said has caused “stress, shame and hurt” is closed.
Fredric McKee was charged with murder in November of 2020 in connection to the shooting death of Temeka Delorse Lacey. Three years later, a motion was filed by Dana Evans, a state prosecutor, to dismiss the case. Judge Jannie Lewis-Blackmon agreed with Evans’ motion and granted the order on Dec. 5.
Family members of McKee said there was more to the case than what was provided to The Herald by local investigators.
“When I saw your article about Temeka Lacey’s death in November of 2020, I was very angry,” a family member of MeKee told The Herald. “You only had part of the story. You never mentioned he also suffered from a gun shot wound to his right hand, which he is right-handed. He had his own barber shop in Benton, and he lost so much business. The case got dismissed today after three long years of him living in stress, shame and hurt. He lost Temeka, and his two girls lost their mother.”
Lacey, who was 33 years old at the time of her death, was pronounced dead two days after the shooting on Nov. 24, 2020. Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers said the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
William Nevels, who was a captain with the Yazoo City Police Department at the time of the incident, told The Herald that the victim was sitting inside a parked vehicle on Wildwood Terrace when the shooting occurred. No other information concerning the case was provided at the time.
