Man indicted for 29-year-old killing

Published 6:53 pm Tuesday, January 29, 2019

STARKVILLE (AP) — A northeast Mississippi man has been indicted in the 1990 killing of one woman and rape of another, after he was arrested in August.

Oktibbeha County grand jurors on Monday indicted Michael Wayne Devaughn of Rienzi on one count of capital murder in the stabbing death of 65-year-old Betty Jones and one count of sexual battery in the rape of 81-year-old Kathryn Crigler.

Jones and Crigler were attacked at Crigler’s Starkville home on Sept. 3, 1990. Crigler survived the assault and called police, who collected rape evidence before Crigler later died. The DNA was tested years later, helping police identify Devaughn as a suspect.

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District Attorney Scott Colom says Devaughn, jailed since August, will be arraigned Wednesday. A lawyer for Devaughn didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment Tuesday.