Casey Lawhorn, Tennessee Double Homicide Suspect, Found Dead In Mississippi

A Tennessee man, who posted a confession on Facebook on Sunday describing how he fatally shot his mother and his friend, was found dead in Vossburg, Jasper County, Mississippi, the police said.

According to a report in USA Today, 23-year-old Casey James Lawhorn was being sought by the police department in the shooting deaths of his mother and his friend. His body was found about a 100 yards away from his abandoned vehicle at the 118-mile mark of Interstate 59, Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson said.

Reports state he posted a graphic, lengthy description of the shooting on his Facebook post. In his now deleted post from Sunday, Lawhorn wrote: “I've spent a lot of time thinking about murder, wondering what it feels like, but I've barely felt anything.”

“Since so many people keep trying to reach out to me on Facebook, I figure I can just say my piece once here and be done with it. Before I start, I need to emphasize that I take full responsibility for my actions. Nothing anyone has or hasn't done to me caused this, my decisions and my failures are my own. Technical Details: This morning, at around 01:30, I shot and killed my mother [Vi Lawhorn] and a close friend of mine [Avery Gaines] with a stolen .22 LR.”

East Ridge Assistant Police Chief Stan Allen reportedly said, after the shooting, the Mississippi Highway Patrol found a vehicle believed to be Lawhorn’s on Sunday.

Jasper County Sheriff's Department also confirmed the same in a statement and said the car was found empty along Interstate 59 in the area.

“Casey James Lawhorn's vehicle has been found on I59 near the Vossburg exit in Jasper County. Lawhorn is wanted in Tennessee for a double homicide. Lawhorn was not in the vehicle but is still presumed to be in Jasper County. Jasper County Sheriff's Department, MHP, MBI. Jones County Sheriff's Department is all on the scene. Lawhorn is armed and considered very dangerous. Please DO NOT approach but contact the Jasper County Sheriff's Department 601-764-2588,” the statement read.

After the incident, Allen added the bodies of his mother, Vi, and the friend were discovered with gunshot wounds to the head at a house in East Ridge along the Tennessee-Georgia border. His friend was identified as 22-year-old Avery Gaines from Ringgold, Georgia.

Police officials said Lawhorn notified them about the dead bodies before he escaped from the state in a gold Ford Taurus.

"Officers from several law enforcement agencies are searching parts of Jasper County in eastern Mississippi following the sighting of a Tennessee man wanted in connection with a double homicide in East Ridge, Tennessee. Casey James Lawhorn, 22, was seen at a convenience store in Heidelberg about 4:00 p.m. today. The vehicle he was traveling in, a 2002 gold Ford Taurus, was found abandoned in the southbound shoulder of I-59 in Jasper County approximately five miles from the store where he was last seen," a press release from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations read.

In his Facebook post, Lawhorn confessed to being suicidal since high school.

In his bio, he described himself as “Former Operations Administrator at Amazon” who “studied at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU)” and “Went to OHS.” He also wrote he lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee.