The suspect accused of killing three people in a Ridgeland home on Mother’s Day has been shot and killed by police in Arizona.
Ridgeland Police Chief Brian Myers confirmed that James Welch III was considered the primary suspect in the case. James is believed to have been the gunman that took the lives of Crystal Lynn Welch, 42, Vicky Renee Welch, 56, and then his mother Ida Thomas Welch, 76. Crystal was confirmed to have been a professor at Mississippi College School of Law.
The three were discovered deceased in the living room of a home at 7146 Old Canton Road on Sunday around 3:30 p.m. An arrest warrant for the suspect was obtained soon after police spotted the victims and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force began searching for Welch. Police chose not to release James Welch’s identity to the media or public once he became a suspect to protect the investigation and have him apprehended promptly, per a press release.
Welch managed to get to Arizona before being located by troopers with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Troopers claim they attempted to detain the suspect, but he reportedly fired shots at officers. Police retaliated, killing Welch at the scene.
“This investigation is a great example of how teamwork in law enforcement, as well as a great relationship with our media outlets, affords us swift justice for a grieving family,” Myers said. “This horrific event will have a lasting effect on this family, the officers involved in this investigation as well as our brothers in Arizona law enforcement.”
Police have not yet released a motive for the domestic-related triple homicide.
