The man, a 55-year-old named Roy Veal, had recently returned to the Woodville, Mississippi, area intending to maintain his family's title to land that was being contested in a lawsuit, largely because the large tract was believed to potentially hold oil.
On Friday, he was found hanging from a tree with a hood over his head. His body carried various signs of unusual trauma.
According to the Clarion-Ledger, however, the local sheriff is treating it as a potential suicide:
- "We can't say if this was a homicide or a suicide at this point. We'll have to await further results from the crime lab," Jackson said.
Veal, 55, of Washington state, had been living with his mother in the Donegal community, a few miles south of Woodville, the sheriff said.
"He was last seen at his mother's house Wednesday evening," Jackson said.
A pillow case was over Veal's head, authorities said. Jackson said signs of trauma were visibly noticeable on the body.
Well, as the gruff old police detective told the cub reporter viewing the corpse of a woman stabbed 47 times, "That would be one hell of a suicide."
And it doesn't take much to find a motive:
- Officials at the chancery clerk's office in Woodville said a lawsuit pending in chancery court names several members of the Veal family as defendants, including Doris Gordon and Roy Veal. Chancery Clerk Thomas Tolliver Jr., said the case involved title to land in the county and damages.
Roy Veal's mother, Thelma Veal, 79, said the lawsuit sought portions of land owned by her late husband and his brothers. She said her son had obtained a map of the property and was collecting documents to prove the family owned the land.
She said her husband owned more than 40 acres in the area southwest of Woodville and that it was being sought because it might have oil deposits.
There is oil production in that area of the state.
It will be interesting to see if this death is treated in the, shall we say, classic Southern tradition.
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