Mississippi mom charged with son's murder, accused of hiding body behind false wall: Police

A Mississippi woman is now in police custody facing first-degree murder charges after her son was found dead in a box behind a false wall, according to a press release by the Gulfport Police Department.

The woman, identified by police as 66-year-old Jerri Lynn Isreal, was arrested on Saturday Jan. 20. Police say the woman also reportedly goes by the last name Roby.

The woman's arrest came after a call was made to the police department on Dec. 22, 2023, with reports of a missing person. Officers were then dispatched to the residence where they conducted a welfare check.

After that, police say the department made several follow-up appointments to the woman's home.

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Investigation leads to arrest of mother in son's murder

During the investigation, the woman became uncooperative with police and changed her statements several times.

On Jan. 18, Detectives and Crime Scene Technicians conducted a search of her residence. She was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Local outlet WLOX reports that this was due to her "ingesting a large number of pills in an apparent suicide attempt."

During the search, a wooden box containing a deceased person was located behind a false wall, according to police.

The body was later identified as John Allen Gaither, the woman's son.

She was processed and transported to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center to be held in lieu of her bond, police said.

She made her first court appearance on Monday Jan. 22.

The case is set to before a grand jury in February and a murder trial could start in the following months, WLOX reports.

The woman murdered someone else 30 years ago

During the Gulfport Police Department investigation, detectives found out that the woman was arrested and convicted of murder in Florida around 1995, the press release stated.

Detectives discovered that she committed the murder and made several attempts to dump the body at different locations throughout Florida.

This information led police to obtain a search warrant of her residence while locating the whereabouts of her son, police said.