Mississippi Mom Sentenced to Life for Son’s Murder, Impersonating Him for Weeks

A Mississippi woman tried to cover up her son’s murder by spending weeks fabricating lies in front of his family and friends that he was still alive, authorities said.

WLOX reported on Wednesday, July 22, that Jerri Roby, 69, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her son, John Gaither, 42, in Gulfport in December 2023.

The bizarre case began as a missing persons investigation after Gaither’s brother reported not hearing from him in about a week. According to WLOX, Roby kept sharing inconsistent stories about her son’s whereabouts with investigators, at one point claiming he’d taken an Uber to Louisiana to buy a car, a trip his account showed never happened.

As the search dragged on, Gaither’s father and stepmother received a letter supposedly written by him, claiming he’d traveled to the Philippines to meet a woman. Family members also received text messages they believed were from him.

Investigators grew suspicious once they learned Roby had a prior murder conviction from Florida in the 1990s and obtained a warrant to search her home.

According to a Gulfport Police Department statement, detectives searching the residence on January 18, 2024, found “a wooden box containing a deceased subject, later identified as John Allen Gaither,” hidden behind a false wall.

WLOX reported that a Home Depot receipt showed Roby had purchased sand, sealing tape, straw and a dumpster bag a week before the missing persons report was filed.

Prosecutor Matthew Burrell said Roby admitted to the fabricated messages and told investigators Gaither “shot himself in the back of the head, fell into the box, where she then covered him with the sand, dirt, and straw she purchased from Home Depot.”

Roby later pleaded guilty, claiming she killed her son to end his suffering from depression, according to The Independent.