Tupelo woman charged as accessory after the fact in killing of girl, 16

Jun 14, 2023

Reporter

TUPELO – A Tupelo woman invited a man to her home and went to get food and cigarettes for him, even after he told her he had killed someone, and the body was in a nearby car.

Jesmya Michelle Springer, 20, of Stone Street, Tupelo, was charged Wednesday with accessory after the fact to murder in the May 22 shooting death of Denasia "Nana" McGregory, 16, of Houston. Physical and electronic records at the Lee County Adult Jail initially listed her first name as "Jesmya."

During her initial appearance Thursday afternoon in Tupelo Municipal Court, Judge Harry Sumner set bond at $200,000.

The Clay County Sheriff's Office has charged LaBrandon Tramel Tumblin, 19, of Pullen Lake Road, Aberdeen, with first degree murder in connection with McGregory's death, as well as possession of a weapon by a felon and felony obstruction of justice.

Tupelo police detective L’Brien Miller said after Tumblin killed McGregory, he drove to Tupelo and was later found inside the house Springer shared with her mother. After a brief standoff, he surrendered without incident around 7 a.m. May 23.

Police initially thought the two women and a juvenile were held against their wills and charged Tumblin with kidnapping.

As the investigation continued, police looked at Springer's cell phone and the three phones that Tumblin had. The digital communications between the two showed it was not kidnapping.

Miller said the phones showed they were talking as early as 7 p.m. May 22 and throughout the night. Springer even told the detective she deleted a conversation between them.

"Around midnight, he admitted shooting and killing someone, and the body was in the car," Miller said. "She still invited him to come to her home. At one point, she left and got food and cigarettes for him."

The detective said when he interviewed Tumblin, he admitted he told Springer he had killed someone and had a picture of the body. According to Miller, Springer's position is that she didn't believe him.

Public defender Dennis Farris noted that Springer has no felony record in arguing for a reasonable bond.

Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said the killing happened in the Una community in the northern part of the county, most likely in the late afternoon hours of May 22. McGregory was shot multiple times. Tumblin reportedly put the girl's body in the trunk of her car and drove to Tupelo.

McGregory's parents were able to track her AirPods to the 100 block of Stone Street in Tupelo and asked the Tupelo Police Department to do a welfare check. Responding officers found McGregory's body around 3:30 a.m. May 23 in a car parked outside a daycare.

By that point, Clay County authorities were aware that Tumblin was telling people he had shot and killed someone and notified surrounding law enforcement agencies.

When Tupelo police began pinging Tumblin's phone, it was showing up in the Stone Street area. When Lee County 911 started getting hang-up calls from Springer's residence, police set up a perimeter and called in negotiators.

"After sunrise, she (Springer) exited the house and told us he was inside," Miller said. "After a brief standoff, we got him to come out without further incident."

At the time of his arrest, Tumblin was on probation for a previous armed robbery conviction in Chickasaw County. The Mississippi Department of Corrections revoked that probation, and he is now housed in the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl. The MDOC website says he is serving a life sentence.

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Reporter

William covers cops, courts and breaking news for the Daily Journal.