FILE 630 / 12 September 2025 / 73 MIN / express

Down South Death Demon

Edwards, MississippiListen

The town

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We're going to Mississippi this week... Mississippi, Edwards, Mississippi, to be exact. This is in Hinds County. about 0:03:04

History, in brief

Town note

The first settlement in the Edwards area was known as Amsterdam.

about 0:04:48

Town note

The town was big in the 1830s and then faded away until it no longer existed.

about 0:05:14

1832

A cholera epidemic in about 1832, plus the railroad being put further away than the town wanted, killed it off.

about 0:05:21

1897

A yellow fever epidemic in 1897 decimated the town again.

about 0:05:34
All 5 history facts

Town note

The first settlement in the Edwards area was known as Amsterdam.

about 0:04:48

Town note

The town was big in the 1830s and then faded away until it no longer existed.

about 0:05:14

1832

A cholera epidemic in about 1832, plus the railroad being put further away than the town wanted, killed it off.

about 0:05:21

1897

A yellow fever epidemic in 1897 decimated the town again.

about 0:05:34

Town note

During the yellow fever outbreak whole families were ill at once and people were buried without their families finding out.

about 0:05:41

The figures, as told

Crime / national average

Bail
$4,000

about 0:22:41

DNA match frequency
one in 276 billion

about 1:05:40

People on death row in Mississippi
36

about 1:12:00

Years since Mississippi last executed anyone
13 years

about 1:12:00

Money

Median home value$102,900
Median household income$28,688
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2025

Population

"about 1,060"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:09

Median household income

"$28,688"

Comparison: "well under half the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:19

Median home price

"$102,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:04:32

DNA match frequency

"one in 276 billion"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 1:05:40

People on death row in Mississippi

"36"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 1:12:00

Years since Mississippi last executed anyone

"13 years"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 1:12:00

The reviews

3.0 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“Quiet and calm without all the noise that the city makes.”
about 0:06:00

3 stars

“The world's only cactus plantation is still open but hurry: John, 81, has had three major surgeries and is looking for a buyer; he used to have ten greenhouses and now has two, one about a quarter full of Easter lilies.”
about 0:06:09

1 star

“A small town several miles east of Vicksburg, normally overlooked by travellers, with only a preschool and a handful of convenience stores, a population under two thousand and on the downslope for 60 years.”
about 0:07:34

In Mississippi

Closest episodes

  1. The Family Death Curse - Vaughan, MississippiVaughn, Mississippi · 25 May 202369 km / 43 miShow on map
  2. A Most Evil CoupleHattiesburg, Mississippi · 26 May 2022167 km / 104 miShow on map
  3. Going For His Murder BadgePetal, Mississippi · 15 November 2018170 km / 106 miShow on map
  4. Brazen Stupidity, Or Criminal Insanity?Dry Prong, Louisiana · 8 April 2021200 km / 124 miShow on map
  5. Worse Than MurderStarkville, Mississippi · 26 February 2026208 km / 129 miShow on map

The story

Born on 7 June 1971, he was raised by an abusive alcoholic father and a mother with untreated bipolar disorder and substance problems. His stepfather Larry Jones beat him badly enough that he missed two weeks of school, and he said he was sexually abused by several relatives, including his aunt and grandmother Virginia Fay Rarden. At seven he went to the police about the beatings and was sent away with a sweet. He was never treated. His marriage to Catherine, with whom he had three children, ended.

On 10 September 2010 he paid 800 dollars cash for the Camaro in Jasper and drove three and a half hours to Clinton to see his ex-girlfriend Sherry Lawson at the Comfort Inn. On Monday 13 September the car broke down and was towed. Ethel Winsted Simpson, 81, arrived at 3.30 for her regular workout. She was a vivacious woman with bright red hair, a member of the First Baptist Church Bible study and the Red Hat Society, who lived in Clinton with her brother Thomas. Her husband had died of lung cancer in 2005.

Ethel drove him to the Comfort Inn, went home briefly, then collected him again. At 8.36 that evening her silver 2002 Mercedes was caught on traffic cameras heading towards Vicksburg. At 8.45 it parked at the River Walk Casino and the pair went in. They gambled and ate dinner, with Ethel paying the 40 dollar bill, and left at 11.24. Four minutes later he left in a different shirt, and at 12.51 he drove off alone. At 1.15 he was at a Vicksburg casino playing slots, cashing out 47 dollars and leaving at 2.11. At 3.07 a licence plate reader on I-20 in Rankin County recorded the Mercedes heading east at 75 mph with one person aboard.

At 7 that morning Ethel's brother Thomas found she had not come home. Her son Ken was called at 8.30 and by 10.15 he had contacted Clinton police, who quickly learned she had left the gym with an unknown white man in her missing car. On 17 September a farmer feeding his hogs off Highway 22 in Edwards found her body partly covered by hog feed in a metal grain bin 200 yards from the road, with blood on the rim and handprints in it. Dental records were needed to identify her. The autopsy found a skull fracture from ear to ear, a broken neck with a severed spinal cord, a crushed windpipe and defensive wounds; she had been beaten to death and was conscious during the attack.

On 16 September he rang the house claiming to be in Panama City, asked for Fay, laughed and hung up. Lois found Fay's bedroom locked; firefighters broke in and found the 68-year-old beaten to death. On 17 September, near Auburn, Alabama, he met Mark Cox, 56, at a convenience store and stabbed him repeatedly in the neck and torso after Cox mentioned land for sale. Cox survived and called 911.

He gave three interviews. In the first he blamed Mark Cox, whose alibi was proved by phone, card and work records. Mark Cox testified. DNA matching Ethel's blood on his flip flops had a frequency of one in 276 billion. Investigators believe he may have killed other elderly women, and several missing-person cases are being reviewed.

The case

Murder of Ethel Simpson

Victims

Ethel Winsted Simpson (81). Born 1929; lived in Clinton with her brother Thomas; Red Hat Society member and First Baptist Church Bible study member; drove a silver 2002 Mercedes.

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 12 September 2025.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Sherry Lawson. his ex-girlfriend, staying at the Comfort Inn in Clinton
Thomas. Ethel's brother, with whom she shared a home
Ken Simpson. Ethel's son, who reported her missing
Jan Cossett. Baptist Health Plex employee and friend of Ethel
Mark Cox. 56-year-old Alabama man stabbed by ; survived and testified
Eric 'Butterbean' Esch. fighter from Jasper who knew for years
Lois Rutledge. great-aunt, who found Fay's body
Catherine. ex-wife and mother of his three children
Phyllis Jones. mother
Larry Jones. abusive stepfather
Virginia Fay Rarden. aunt and grandmother, killed in Alabama

The timeline

  1. June 7th, 1971 is born in the Jasper, Alabama area to Cobb Sr and Phyllis Jonesabout 0:09:55
  2. 1997 begins competing in Toughman contests and cage fighting, billed as Hitman about 0:18:15
  3. September 10th, 2010 buys a Chevrolet Camaro for $800 cash in Jasper, Alabamaabout 0:26:59
  4. September 10th, 2010 drives three and a half hours to Clinton, Mississippi to see his ex-girlfriend Sherry Lawson at the Comfort Inn (Comfort Inn)about 0:27:33
  5. September 13th, 2010 The Camaro breaks down and is towed to a repair shop; gives the paperwork to Sherry Lawson (Comfort Inn)about 0:32:09
  6. September 13th, 2010, 3 p.m. walks to the Baptist Health Plex and tells people he has lung cancer, no family and no way back to Alabama (Baptist Health Plex)about 0:33:26
  7. September 13th, 2010, 3.30 p.m. Ethel Simpson arrives at the Baptist Health Plex for her regular workout (Baptist Health Plex)about 0:35:25
  8. September 13th, 2010, 4.30 p.m. Ethel leaves with and drives him to the Comfort Inn in her silver Mercedes (Comfort Inn)about 0:38:41
  9. September 13th, 2010 Ethel goes home briefly, then returns and picks up again (Ethel Simpson's home)about 0:38:57
  10. September 13th, 2010, 8.36 p.m. Ethel's Mercedes is caught on traffic cameras heading toward Vicksburgabout 0:39:16
  11. September 13th, 2010, 8.45 p.m. The Mercedes parks at the River Walk Casino and Ethel and get out and enter together (River Walk Casino)about 0:39:24
  12. September 13th, 2010, 8.45 to 11.24 p.m. They gamble at slot machines and eat dinner at the casino restaurant, with Ethel paying the $40 bill (River Walk Casino)about 0:39:42
  13. September 13th, 2010, 11.24 p.m. They leave the casino together, Ethel driving, and head east on Highway 61 (River Walk Casino)about 0:40:38
  14. September 14th, 2010, 12.44 a.m. Comfort Inn footage shows the Mercedes arriving and getting out alone and entering room 237 (Comfort Inn)about 0:40:55
  15. September 14th, 2010, 12.48 a.m. is seen leaving room 237 in a different, dark shirt and moving quickly (Comfort Inn)about 0:42:18
  16. September 14th, 2010, 12.51 a.m. leaves alone in Ethel's Mercedes heading back toward Vicksburg (Comfort Inn)about 0:42:33
  17. September 14th, 2010, 1.15 a.m. arrives alone at the Vicksburg casino, plays slots for 45 minutes, cashes out $47 and leaves at 2.11 a.m. (Vicksburg casino)about 0:42:42
  18. September 14th, 2010, 3.07 a.m. A licence plate reader on I-20 in Rankin County sees the Mercedes heading east at 75 mph with one person aboardabout 0:43:09
  19. September 14th, 2010, 7 a.m. Ethel's brother Thomas wakes and finds she has not come home (Ethel Simpson's home)about 0:43:31
  20. September 14th, 2010, 8.30 a.m. Thomas calls Ethel's son Ken, who says he does not know where she is (Ethel Simpson's home)about 0:43:48
  21. September 14th, 2010, 10.15 a.m. Ken contacts the Clinton Police Department and reports his mother missing (Clinton Police Department)about 0:44:09
  22. September 14th, 2010, afternoon turns up at Aunt Fay's house in North Birmingham driving Ethel's Mercedes and asks Lois Rutledge if she wants to see a dead body (Aunt Fay's house)about 0:44:51

Murder of Virginia Fay Rarden

Victims

Virginia Fay Rarden (68). aunt and grandmother, who raised him for a time and whom he says molested him for years

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 12 September 2025.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Lois Rutledge. Fay's sister, who found the body
Thomas. Ethel Simpson's brother

The timeline

  1. is sent as a boy to live with his aunt and grandmother Virginia Fay Rarden for protection, and says she molested him for years (Aunt Fay's house)about 0:13:54
  2. September 14th, 2010, afternoon arrives at Fay's house in North Birmingham in Ethel Simpson's Mercedes (Aunt Fay's house)about 0:44:51
  3. September 14th, 2010 tells Lois Rutledge that Fay is ill and resting in her bedroom and does not want to talk to anyone (Aunt Fay's house)about 0:46:20
  4. September 16th, 2010, 9 a.m. calls the house, asks for Fay, laughs hysterically and hangs up (Aunt Fay's house)about 0:47:07
  5. September 16th, 2010 Lois finds Fay's bedroom door locked; the fire department breaks it down and finds her body (Aunt Fay's house)about 0:47:29

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode