Tupelo Homicide Victim Identified

Leah Bishop
Source: Tupelo Police Department

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) — Tupelo police have identified the victim of a Wednesday homicide.

Chief Bart Aguirre says the victim is 65-year-old Jesse Traylor.

Authorities are still looking for Traylor’s girlfriend, who’s accused of killing him.

Now Chief Aguirre tells WCBI they plan to charge 45-year-old Leah Bishop with capital murder.

Investigators say she could have dyed her hair blonde.

She’s believed to be driving a gray 2005 Dodge Stratus.

Wednesday afternoon, Tupelo police received a call from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department in south Mississippi.

Jones County deputies say they received a letter from Bishop saying she had killed her boyfriend and his body was at his south Tupelo home.

Tupelo police went to the house on Rollingwood Drive, but could not get anyone to answer the door. A relative was called and let police inside.

Officers found the unidentified victim inside the home. It is unclear how he was killed.

Police across the state spent the night searching for Bishop.

They’re not sure why she sent the letter to Jones County law enforcement.

However, Bishop does have a military background and may have some connection to Camp Shelby.