Booneville man enters plea of guilty to Capital Murder in wife’s death

BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- A Booneville man is entering a plea of guilty to Capital Murder in the death of his wife.

25-year-old Mike Brian Rutledge admitted to killing 35-year-old Laura Ann Rutledge back in 2017. He revealed he tied her hands up, beat and stabbed her, and then hid her body.

Her body was discovered in July 2017 in a wooded area off North College Street in Booneville.

The official cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and sharp force trauma to the head and upper body.

A 10-inch knife was recovered and later identified by Rutledge as the murder weapon.

Rutledge was indicted for Capital Murder because the victim was allegedly kidnapped before her death.

Rutledge was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or release.

Mike Brian Rutledge, 25