CORINTH, Miss. — An Alcorn County man was shot and put in a car, then set on fire. As authorities investigate, the victim’s family has questions of their own.
Deputies made the gruesome discovery along Main Street and Buchanan. It’s about six miles from where the initial shooting call was, and they believe both incidents are related.
“I don’t know what happened between him and the man that done this, but there are other ways to talk about things than to pull a gun and set a man on fire,” a family member said.
What should’ve been a day of celebration for Jazmine Cole’s husband Terrance Cole ended in tragedy for her and her family Wednesday.
“It was his birthday,” Cole said. “It was his 28th. He’s young, and for it to happen on his birthday is just horrible.”
Alcorn County Sheriff’s deputies said 39-year-old David Rhodes shot Terrance Cole, drove him to another location and set the car he was inside on fire. They arrested Rhodes after spotting him walking away from the burning car.
“It’s not what he deserved,” Jazmine Cole said. “That’s overkill. Nobody deserves that, but to burn his body…”
The situation is unbelievable when Cole thinks of the quiet family man who loved his kids with all his heart. One of their last conversations was making plans for Christmas and their son’s fifth birthday in two weeks.
Now, the kids are wondering where daddy is, and Cole doesn’t have the answers.
“He should’ve thought, ‘He’s got a family. He’s got a little boy he wants to buy Christmas for,’ and stuff like that instead of thinking about yourself.”
Faced with the reality of having to bury her husband without insurance, she’s hoping she can get help from people in her community. She also hopes deputies can ease her suffering by getting answers from Rhodes.
“First, I would have asked him why, and then I would tell him that he deserves to be locked up,” Cole said. “He deserves to stay in there for life because our son is going to grow up without a daddy.”
Deputies sent Cole’s body to the medical examiner for a positive identification.
