Series 3 of Clarke County’s unsolved murders this week will focus on the murders of Odis Brown in 1982, and Michael Ruffin in 2010.
The Clarke County Tribune would like to remind everyone about these murders in hopes it may possibly shed new light on the cold cases. Any information you may have on these crimes, whether you think it may matter or not, could help bring these unsolved murder cases to an end. In some cases, alleged murderers were arrested but never convicted, resulting in the cases still being open.
These cases are all still active. If you have any information on these unsolved cases, please contact the Crime Stoppers hotline number at 1-855-485-8477. All calls are anonymous and may result in a reward.
Odis Brown
On September 24, 1982, a family’s lives were changed forever with the murder of Odis Brown.
When law officials responded to the scene on the Matherville road, they were able to speak with Robert Lindsey, who was with Odis Brown at the time. Brown and Lindsey had returned to the site of Brown’s new house that he was building in order to get a hacksaw he had left at the location.
The site was surrounded by dense woods, and once they reached the area, Brown got out of the truck. According to Lindsey, shotgun blasts were heard immediately when Brown exited the vehicle, and he jumped out of the truck and got on the ground. Unfortunately, Robert Lindsey didn’t see who was shooting.
Authorities immediately began analyzing the scene and collecting evidence to find the shooter. Based on the wounds they found on the body, officials were able to determine that the range of the shooter was 30 to 40 yards from the victim.
By October 12, 1982, there were still no arrests or warrants in the case, but the coroner did return his findings.
According to the coroner, “Fourteen buckshot entered the victim’s body in the area of his heart. Twelve of the fourteen would have killed him individually. Six buck shots entered the vehicle the victim had been driving.”
On Monday, November 1, 1982, authorities were finally able to make an arrest. Tommy C. Marsh of Quitman was arrested and given a preliminary hearing before Judge Tommy Touchstone that night where a bond was set for $100,000.
“This was a real tough one to crack,” stated David E. Williams, sheriff at the time.
They were five weeks into the investigation before they finally had a breakthrough in the case on October 14. A farmer in the Carmichael area had found a double barrel shotgun at the edge of the woods at the end of one of his rows and reported the weapon to the police. The field where the weapon was found was only two to three miles from the scene of the crime.
The evidence was presented and confirmed by the Mississippi Crime Lab in Jackson, but they still had no motive for the shooting.
Once they made the arrest, Sheriff Williams stated, “This has been a long, tiring investigation, but we always have to check evidence and facts carefully, and that takes some time.”
The department did continue the investigation, and Tommy Marsh was sent before the Grand Jury in March of 1983; however, they voted to postpone the indictment of Marsh since the investigation of the homicide was still ongoing.
Unfortunately, that March Grand Jury was the last time the murder charges were ever brought up against Marsh. Since the indictment was postponed, no one has ever been tried and convicted for the murder of Odis Brown, and a motive for the homicide was never discovered.
Michael Ruffin
On August 17, 2010, a family on their way to church made a grisly discovery.
Michael Joe Ruffin, also known as Slow Motion, was found dead in the back seat of his 2003 Cadillac DeVille on County Road 242 near the Jasper County line.
Ruffin had been reported missing by his family on August 12, when he had last been seen in Waynesboro around 11:00 p.m. about to head to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The preliminary autopsy report by the crime lab showed where Ruffin had been shot one time in the back shoulder area with a shotgun; unfortunately, they were unable to identify the type of shotgun that was used. The Clarke County Sheriff’s Department, Waynesboro Police Department, Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation worked together on the case.
“We believe he was killed in Wayne County in the Hiwannee Community and that his body was left in Clarke County on the Jasper County line,” explained Sheriff Todd Kemp. “It was only 50 yards in the county line when we found him.”
By November of 2010, there were still no arrests made in the case, but authorities were still actively pursuing leads to find who was responsible for the murder.
“We believe the individuals who are responsible for his death are probably involved in some gang activity,” stated Kemp.
At the time of the murder, there were a couple of homicides in Wayne, Jasper, and Jones Counties and some gang activity.
