Three people were killed Friday night in a shooting at a birthday celebration.
Marlee Jones Barnhill, 27, Jim Harrell, 44, and Brooks Hooker Harrell, 38, died in a shooting that occurred March 1, 2019, at the Harrell’s residence on County Road 135 in Carroll County.
Michael Martin Barnhill, 30, of Winona, husband of Marlee Jones Barnhill, has been charged in connection with the shooting and is currently being held without bond at the Carroll Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility in Vaiden without bond.
According to Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker, the Barnhills were invited to the Harrell home on County Road 135 to celebrate Marlee Jones Barnhill’s 27th birthday, which was the next day. Friends Mauri Suggs and Amber Garrard were also invited to the gathering. The Harrell’s 10-year-old son was also present at the home.
Walker said “good friends were all having a nice time together,” when Michael Barnhill became “drunk and belligerent” over the course of the evening. The other guests tried to calm him down, but Walker said Barnhill became “angry and combative.”
Walker said Marlee Jones Barnhill would not give her husband the keys to their vehicle to prevent him from driving drunk. Barnhill went to the vehicle and returned with a .40 caliber handgun.
“As he became angrier, he slapped a cigarette from Marlee’s hand,” Walker said. “Then, Michael Barnhill suddenly shot Marlee in the chest. As Jim Harrell tried to come to Marlee’s defense, Barnhill proceeded to shoot Jim. He also shot Brooks [Harrell] as she attempted to come to the aid of her husband and Marlee. The Harrells were trying to do the right thing by coming to Marlee’s aid.”
Walker said Suggs and Garrard ran into the house and upstairs to protect the Harrell’s young son who was asleep in his room. The women locked and barricaded themselves and the boy in a closet.
Walker said the Carroll County Emergency Operations Center received a report of shots fired just before midnight. The caller reported that possibly two or three people had been shot.
Carroll County deputies responded and found Marlee Jones Barnhill and Jim Harrell dead at the scene, and Brooks Hooker Harrell critically wounded. She died as paramedics were trying to airlift her from the Greenwood Airport to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Walker said deputies discovered the two witnesses and the boy.
Walker said sometime later, Michael Barnhill returned to the scene, “acting as though he did not know what had happened.” However, the witnesses alerted deputies that Barnhill was the shooter.
“After a brief struggle, and despite his efforts to flee, Barnhill was subdued with the aid of a taser by one of the deputies, taken into custody, and transported to jail,” Walker said. “[Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the State Crime Scene Unite processed the scene and interviewed the witnesses.”
Carroll County Coroner Mark Stiles and Montgomery County Coroner Allan Pratt, transported the victims to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Pearl for autopsy.
Barnhill went before Carroll County Justice Court Judge Jimmy Avant Monday morning for an initial hearing in the case. He was charged with three counts of homicide and two counts of aggravated assault. With bond denied, Barnhill will be held at the Carroll Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility until his trial.
“As sheriff, my main concern lies with the investigation, the victims, and their families,” Walker said. “There are many families who have been forever changed by this horrible crime.”
Walker went on to say, “Each victim of this crime acted out of care and concern for the welfare of others. Marlee tried to keep Michael Barnhill and those he might come into contact with safe by preventing him driving drunk. Jim Harrell acted in defense of Marlee. Brooks Harrell tried to render aid to her husband. Mauri Suggs and Amber Garrard acted to protect a defenseless child, and to warn the deputies of the danger they were facing. Our deputies remembered and acted upon their training to protect those remaining and subdue the suspect.”
Walker said every victim should be praised for their heroic acts during the shooting and after.
“During the hardest moments of their lives, they all thought of other people before themselves,” Walker said.
According to their obituaries, Marlee Jones Barnhill worked as a nurse at Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital. She was laid to rest Wednesday afternoon at First Baptist Church of Winona.
Jim Harrell was a land surveyor and co-owned Harrell Surveying with his brother, Trent Harrell. Brooks Hooker Harrell was a registered nurse at Greenwood Leflore Hospital and Greenwood Orthopedic Clinic.
The couple had two sons, aged 15 year old and 10 years old.
The Harrells will be laid to rest today at 11 a.m. at North Greenwood Baptist Church, with burial following at Odd Fellows Cemetery in Lexington.
Walker said the families of the victims are very thankful for the outpouring of support and prayers from the community.
“Our God always brings victory from what the devil meant for evil,” Walker said. “We pray that the Lord will use this awful tragedy that has befallen our community to redeem and transform lives, as only he can.”
