FILE 677 / 26 February 2026 / 180 MIN / full

Worse Than Murder

Starkville, MississippiListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

James says the episode is Starkville, Mississippi, in northeastern Mississippi, and names Oktibbeha County. about 0:04:57

History, in brief

1835

Board Town was established in 1835 as the county seat of Oktibbeha County.

about 0:07:19

Town note

It was renamed Starkville in honour of Revolutionary War hero General John Stark.

about 0:07:31

1835

A log court house and a one-room jail house were built in 1835.

about 0:07:49

Town note

The jailhouse had no doors or windows; prisoners climbed a ladder to the roof and were lowered through a trap door on a rope.

about 0:08:42
All 9 history facts

1835

Board Town was established in 1835 as the county seat of Oktibbeha County.

about 0:07:19

Town note

It was renamed Starkville in honour of Revolutionary War hero General John Stark.

about 0:07:31

1835

A log court house and a one-room jail house were built in 1835.

about 0:07:49

Town note

The jailhouse had no doors or windows; prisoners climbed a ladder to the roof and were lowered through a trap door on a rope.

about 0:08:42

1875

In 1875 a fire destroyed 52 buildings, most of the town, including the whole business district.

about 0:09:03

Town note

A man named McLaughlin served as the local head of the Freedmen's Bureau, helped establish Black Methodist churches and set up a cooperative store for black people at his house.

about 0:09:19

Town note

The Ku Klux Klan attacked McLaughlin's store and tried to burn it down.

about 0:09:28

1898

A yellow fever epidemic in 1898 led West Point, Columbus, Artesia and Casacusco to quarantine Starkville's railroads.

about 0:09:54

Town note

The quarantine caused a shortage of medical and other supplies, and the state had to intervene.

about 0:10:16

The figures, as told

Religious

48.8%

Biggest faith: Baptist, 27%

about 0:15:16

Who lives here

White 57.5% · Black 36.1% · Asian 3.3% · Hispanic 1.5%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▲ about 25% over the national average

about 0:21:24

Violent crime
▼ about one quarter below the national average

about 0:21:43

Money

Median home value$228,100
Two-bedroom rent$790
Median household income$34,391
Cost of living81 out of 100

For sale

$120,000

Two-bedroom, two-bathroom house, 899 square feet

about 0:17:09

For sale

$226,900

Three-bedroom, three-bathroom brick house, 1,480 square feet

about 0:17:40

For sale

$1,000,000

Three-bedroom, three-bathroom house on 25 acres, 2,328 square feet

about 0:18:46
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2026

Population

"24,578"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:13:51

Married

"37.8%"

Comparison: "lower than the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2026 about 0:14:50

Single with children

"23%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:14:50

Religious

"48.8%"

Comparison: "below the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2026 about 0:15:16

Unemployment

"about average"

Direction: about the same.

As told in 2026 about 0:15:55

Median household income

"$34,391"

Comparison: "about half the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2026 about 0:16:02

Cost of living

"81 out of 100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:16:10

Median home cost

"$228,100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:16:13

Average two-bedroom rent

"$790"

Comparison: "$500 under the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2026 about 0:16:35

Two-bedroom, two-bathroom house, 899 square feet

"$120,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:17:09

Three-bedroom, three-bathroom brick house, 1,480 square feet

"$226,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:17:40

Three-bedroom, three-bathroom house on 25 acres, 2,328 square feet

"$1,000,000"

Comparison: "$950,000 price cut from $2,025,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:18:46

Property crime

"about 25% over the national average"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2026 about 0:21:24

Violent crime

"about one quarter below the national average"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2026 about 0:21:43

The reviews

2.6 / 5 · average of 5

5 stars

“Loves living there and the kids love it, but the police are bad and will pull you over for anything.”
about 0:10:41

3 stars

“Loves the hometown hospitality and the community welcome, except the cops; wants the roads fixed because there are so many students and so many potholes.”
about 0:11:12

2 stars

“Lots of bad neighbourhoods, lots of robberies and some shootings.”
about 0:11:51

2 stars

“Grew up there and there are many genuinely nice people and a few good local restaurants, but no entertainment, little shopping, the Noxubee refuge now charges five dollars and the trails are overgrown; nothing like Las Vegas.”
about 0:12:01

1 star

“Hard to imagine a worse place to live; the only good thing is Mississippi State University, and the landscape architecture department has marred the town.”
about 0:13:21

In Mississippi

Closest episodes

  1. The Dorm Room SurpriseBooneville, Mississippi · 26 November 2022136 km / 85 miShow on map
  2. The Family Death Curse - Vaughan, MississippiVaughn, Mississippi · 25 May 2023141 km / 88 miShow on map
  3. Sexier Than CoalJasper, Alabama · 2 May 2019151 km / 94 miShow on map
  4. Four Letter MurderFalkner, Mississippi · 12 April 2025153 km / 95 miShow on map
  5. The Cookie MonsterWalnut, Mississippi · 26 September 2019166 km / 103 miShow on map

The story

They bonded over their broken homes, and she treated him as a little brother twelve years younger.

Joey worked at a local car dealership with his brother Shannon and served in the Mississippi National Guard's 155th Armoured Brigade. People described him as steady, reliable and not flashy. Joey said it did not matter and that he would raise her.

By 2002 she was seeing Kyle Harvey and also Kyle's best friend, Chris Kelly. In March 2002 she moved out of the marital home with the three children and went to live with Kyle in Jackson. In November 2002 she wrote Kyle a letter complaining that they were $600 in debt, that she was sick of being broke and that she would do anything to keep from struggling. In early 2003 she was trying to reconcile with Joey while still seeing Kyle, and she told Kyle she was about to inherit $300,000 from her grandmother. In the first week of May she and the children moved back in with Joey, and she said it was permanent.

On Friday 9 May 2003 Joey cashed his pay cheque, about $1,020, and put the money in his wallet. Late that night or early on Saturday morning Joey was shot once in the back of the head at close range. The medical examiner later put the time of death at 36 to 48 hours before the body was found and said he never moved.

They drove on to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for the Mother's Day weekend. Kyle noticed that she had a large amount of cash and paid for food, a hotel room and souvenirs with it.

At about half past eleven that morning Shannon Fulgham rang Joey about an air show they had planned to attend. Joey did not answer. Shannon called again and went to the house around noon, knocked and got no reply. On Sunday 11 May he still could not reach his brother, so at about half past five in the afternoon he cut the screen on the living room window, climbed in and found Joey face down on a bed in a pool of blood.

Investigators found a gunshot entrance wound at the back of the head and recovered a small .22 calibre bullet, which had travelled down towards the left eye. There were no shell casings and no weapon. Joey's wallet was missing, the computer tower was gone although its monitor and keyboard remained, and there was an outline in the carpet where it had stood. Drawers were open and the house looked ransacked. Four security light bulbs around the perimeter had been unscrewed so that the lights would not come on.

She was cooperative, agreed to a polygraph and wept for her husband. She said the gun had been thrown into a ditch on the drive to the coast and it was never found. She signed a two-page statement, which was not recorded.

He said she ran a bath and rubbed his back, that she put her hand over his on the trigger and that they fired together, and that she took the computer and gave him Joey's wallet to put in the glove box. On 14 May he telephoned his friend's father, Marcus Sullivan, and said yes, sir, he had done it.

Bail was refused, although his lawyer argued that he had no record and nowhere to run. Sharon liquidated her 401k, sold her house and went into debt to pay for his defence, hiring Jim Wade, a well known north Mississippi defence lawyer.

He was fourteen.

He had spent about five years in custody.

He had left Mississippi, qualified as an EMT, worked for the Department of Defense in Arizona, was treated for cancer in his leg and went into remission, ran a tobacco shop in Columbus and later started an embroidery business in Florida. He became an advocate for juvenile justice reform, arguing that no child should be questioned by police without a lawyer present.

The case

Murder of Joey Fulgham

Victims

Joseph 'Joey' Fulgham (29). Car dealership employee and Mississippi National Guard member; husband of Fulgham and father of three children.

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 26 February 2026.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Carol Morgan. mother, married several times to abusive alcoholics
Sharon Clay. mother, who sold her house and liquidated her 401k for his defence
Joey Fulgham. the victim
Shannon Fulgham. Joey's brother, who found the body and called 911
Kim. Shannon's wife
Kyle Harvey. boyfriend, with whom she spent the Mother's Day weekend on the Gulf Coast
Chris Kelly. Kyle Harvey's best friend, also sleeping with
Haley Fulgham. daughter, fathered by Ray Woods
Darian Fulgham. and Joey's son
Ray Woods. Haley's father, who paid child support
David Knoll. Joey's stepfather, who had the boys on the Friday night
Marcus Sullivan. father of friend, who took 14 May phone call
Randy Simpson. cousin, who testified about the two .22 rifles
Vanessa Davis. witness who said asked her for a gun to shoot a stray dog
Jim Wade. defence attorney
Patricia Faver. district attorney prosecuting
Dr. Stephen Hayne. forensic pathologist who claimed the trajectory showed two people pulled the trigger
Deputy James Lindsey. deputy who removed Sharon from the interrogation room
Deputy Tommy Whitfield. deputy who testified Sharon interfered with the interrogation
Sheriff Bryan. sheriff who said first statement was the truth
Mark Webb. psychiatrist who assessed for the defence
Adrian Dorsey Kidd. licensed social worker who prepared social history
Sarah Ferguson. longtime friend
Anita and Larry Higginsbotham. neighbours who offered to take in
Kenneth Higginsbottom. great uncle
Katy Porter. administrator for kidsincourt.net, who campaigned against trying minors as adults
Carl Hogan. local car dealer who backed tobacco shop

The timeline

  1. August 27th, 1976 Lee is born in the Starkville areaabout 0:22:31
  2. June 14th, 1989 , half-brother, is bornabout 0:24:54
  3. 1991 , aged 15, marries Joey Fulgham, aged 17about 0:27:52
  4. 2000 On The Montel Williams Show tells Joey that Haley is not his daughterabout 0:35:08
  5. March 2002 moves out with the three children to live with Kyle Harvey in Jackson (Kyle Harvey's apartment)about 0:38:09
  6. November 2002 writes Kyle Harvey a letter complaining of being $600 in debtabout 0:38:28
  7. late 2002 , 13, begins spending weekends with about 0:40:01
  8. April 2003 calls Joey's workplace asking about his life insuranceabout 0:47:12
  9. first week of May 2003 and the children move back in with Joey (Fulgham house)about 0:47:56
  10. May 9th, 2003 Joey cashes his pay cheque, about $1,020, and puts it in his walletabout 0:48:23
  11. May 9th, 2003 David Knoll collects Darian and for their Friday night visitabout 0:50:44
  12. May 9th, 2003 , Joey and eat Subway at home (Fulgham house)about 0:51:19
  13. late Friday night or early Saturday morning, May 9th to 10th, 2003 Joey is shot once in the back of the head while asleep (Fulgham house)about 1:00:19

Last meals

  • Joey Fulgham. Subway sandwiches dinner at home with and the night he was shot, May 9th, 2003about 0:51:19

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode