A Mississippi pastor walked into the local sheriff’s office and made a shocking confession: Three years ago, he killed a man and dumped his body.
James Eric Crisp, 37, told investigators this week that in 2019 he was addicted to drugs and got into a deadly altercation with 48-year-old Roger Lord Taylor—who has been listed as a missing person since his vehicle was discovered abandoned.
According to the Monroe County sheriff, Crisp said he later joined a Christian drug treatment program, got sober and is now serving as a pastor and teacher for the same program.
“He made the decision to risk his physical freedom in order to re-gain his spiritual freedom and hopefully help bring closure to this case for the sake of himself and the Taylor family,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Crisp was booked on a manslaughter charge and has been helping police search for Taylor’s remains while being held in lieu of $150,000 bond.
“We are glad for Mr. Crisp to get this off his chest so that he might be able to continue to do ministry wherever the Lord has planned for him, but this does not close the case for us,” the sheriff’s office said. “Investigators for MCSO will look at this new evidence and determine if there should be any other charges or new suspects.”
Taylor lived in Alabama and reportedly was driving to Mississippi to visit his daughter, who told investigators he called her at night to say his car was stuck.
“It’s been bad not knowing, not knowing where he’s at, if he’s OK, if he’s dead or alive, or whatever could’ve happened to him,” his youngest daughter, Alyssa Taylor, told WCBI in 2019. “It’s been horrible.”
The treatment program where Crisp worked, God’s House of Hope, addressed his arrest in a comment on Facebook, replying to a woman who suggested they remove his photo from their page.
“No ma’am, we won’t be changing our picture! we are beyond thankful for the confession this man made, God is in this story!” the organization wrote.
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