A 17-year-old Mississippi teen accused of fatally shooting an elderly couple had previously worked for them, according to testimony from his family members during a preliminary hearing. Cordarius Hobbs faces charges of capital murder and burglary in the deaths of Billy Blair, 74, and Virginia Carol Blair, 71, which occurred on June 3 in Mendenhall.
Family members testified that Hobbs had performed odd jobs for the Blairs, such as cleaning their home, before the shooting. His grandfather, Billy Newsome, expressed disbelief, stating his grandson had been called to work on the day of the incident and questioning why he would rob someone he worked for. "Why you gone stay there that long and you know the police out there, and then you gone wait until everybody gets there to run, it just ain’t adding up, something just ain’t right here," Newsome said.
On the day of the killings, three contractors installing a generator at the Blairs' home discovered Carol Blair's car door ajar with guns on the seats around 10 a.m. This discovery prompted them to call the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department for a welfare check at 11:30 a.m., according to a Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigator. By noon, law enforcement arrived and were met with gunfire, initiating a nearly two-hour standoff.
Hobbs was apprehended after attempting to flee from officers and was unarmed at the time of his capture. Virginia Carol Blair was found in a bedroom with three gunshot wounds to the back of her head, while Billy Blair was found in the kitchen with three gunshot wounds to his face. Investigators recovered three firearms and 280 shell casings from the residence, all belonging to Billy Blair.
Hobbs' defense attorney, Zachary Vaugh, argued that there is a lack of direct forensic evidence linking his client to the shooting. "There was nothing to say he’s a principal, he’s the one that pulled the trigger on these things," Vaugh stated. He also noted the nature of the wounds, suggesting the possibility of another individual being present. Hobbs has been denied bond on charges including two counts of capital murder and one count of burglary, along with 10 other charges.
The couple's family issued a statement expressing their grief, saying, "We are crushed in spirit, bruised, and brokenhearted, but we are not alone." A friend of the couple, Jason Busby, remembered Billy and Virginia Blair as selfless and kind individuals, describing their deaths as a tragedy that has left the community in shock.