Students Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler were murdered 31 years ago. We remember with compassion all those who still mourn the two young lives cut brutally short.

Miller lived in a trailer at what is now called University Hills Mobile Home Park in Starkville, Mississippi. New evidence has emerged of a disturbance centred on Miller’s home shortly before the students’ bodies were discovered on a nearby rural road. Although one concerned resident submitted a statement about this to the sheriff’s office, her report was dismissed and no investigation was conducted.

According to this witness, at some time after midnight on December 11 1992, she heard what she thought was a white man yelling from the direction of Miller’s trailer. He yelled something like, “I can’t believe what you did”. There was no female voice. She then heard what sounded like two gunshots, followed by the sound of a vehicle starting up and speeding off.

A second resident, whose back door was only a few feet from Miller’s trailer, recalls the same incident between midnight and about 1 a.m. He remembers that he was in bed and thinks he may have been woken by the sound of gunshots. Coming from the direction of Miller’s trailer, he heard what sounded like a white man yelling, “That ain’t right. You know this mother fucking shit ain’t right.” He heard no other voices, but then heard a car door shutting and the car driving away.

If the police had followed up the first witness’s statement by questioning other residents, they would have uncovered the corroborative evidence given by the second witness. They might have spoken to yet more witnesses who heard or saw something relevant. The first witness was confident that she could recognize the sound of gunshot; had she been taken seriously, police might have searched for bullets or other evidence at the scene.

Instead, the police investigation focused on the sheriff’s unlikely theory that the students were murdered to avoid arrest during minor theft from an unlocked car.

The failure of police to investigate the incident at Miller’s home may have seriously impacted the quest to achieve real justice for Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler.

If you have relevant information about this potentially significant incident, or any other information that could be relevant to Willie Manning’s case, please contact Willie’s attorney.

We wish Willie Manning a peaceful 2024.