Man indicted in shooting death of ex Mississippi lawmaker
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man has been indicted on a murder charge a year after a former Mississippi lawmaker was shot to death while she was doing yard work in a rural area. Republican former state Rep. Ashley Henley was killed in June 2021 outside the burned-out mobile home where her sister-in-law was found dead in December 2020. Billy Lamar Brooks was indicted in February on a charge of maliciously setting fire to the home. On June 30, a grand jury filed a new indictment against Brooks to add a murder charge in Henley’s death. Brooks’ attorney on Saturday declined to comment on the case. Henley was a lawmaker from 2016 to 2020.