Noxubee County man serving life plus 20 years will remain in prison

NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Noxubee County man serving life plus 20 years will remain in prison.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals has affirmed the Murder and Attempted Murder convictions of Marcus Gardner.

In August of 2017, Gardner was arrested for the shooting death of his girlfriend Chelsea Pace at the home the couple shared in the Cockrell Quarters area of Brooksville.

Pace’s partially burned body was found behind the home. Her four-year-old son also suffered several gunshot wounds. He survived the shooting and would testify against Gardner at trial.

The trial was originally set for March of 2021, but not enough people showed up for jury duty to seat a trial jury.

When the trial did proceed that June, jurors found Gardner guilty of murdering Pace and attempted murder in shooting her son.

Gardner appealed saying the court failed to strike a juror, that they limited cross-examination of a prosecution witness, and that Chelsea Pace’s son should not have been allowed to testify. His lawyers also contested one of the judge’s jury instructions.

The Appeals Court upheld both Gardner’s convictions and the sentences of life for the murder and 20 years for the attempted murder.

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