Law enforcement officials are still investigating the death of Thomas Burns, the 54-year-old man who was found dead last week in a freezer at his Lamar County home.
Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel said officials from the state crime lab in Jackson completed Burns’ autopsy Tuesday, but the results have not yet been released.
Officials from the Lamar County Sheriff’s Department were notified of Burns’ body at about 1 p.m. May 22 after receiving a call from Burns’ family member and neighbor in the 1200 block of Purvis-Oloh Road. Burns had been reported missing by his family the previous day.
“They searched the house and there was no sign of him,” Rigel said. “So they went back … and found him in the freezer.”
Members of Hattiesburg Police Department assisted Lamar County officials with processing the scene.
Four suspects, all Purvis residents, are in custody in relation to the incident:
• Samantha Simmons, 35, charged with grand larceny over $25,000
• Andy Hartfield, 51, charged with receiving stolen property
• Will Bryson, 23, charged with receiving stolen property
• James Allen Simmons, 59, charged with two counts of grand larceny and a probation violation.
Rigel said Samantha Simmons and James Simmons are cousins. Bond was denied for Samantha Simmons, James Simmons and Andy Hartfield, while Will Bryson’s bond was set at $10,000.
Officials cannot yet release which stolen items are involved in the investigation, or what relation the items have to Burns or the suspects.
