A Mississippi teenager knew the elderly couple accused of killing them before sparking a confrontation with law enforcement, according to new court testimony.
Cordarius Hobbs, 17, is accused of killing Billy Blair, 74, and his wife, Virginia Carol Blair, 71, during a break-in at their home on June 3 in Mendenhall, Mississippi.
Hobbs’ family members testified during Thursday’s preliminary hearing that he knew the couple.
Family members testified that Hobbs had been working for the Blairs doing things like cleaning around the house before the alleged shooting, according to To Wabit.
Billy Newsome, Hobbs’ grandfather, said he believes his grandson was called to work on the day of the alleged shooting but believes he is innocent.
“My grandson worked for the man, so why would you go rob a man you work for,” Newsom said. “Why did you go and stay there for so long knowing the police are there, and then wait for everyone to get there to escape, it doesn’t make sense, something is not right here.”
On June 3, three contractors installing a generator at Blair’s home discovered Carroll Blair’s car door open with several handguns on the seats around 10 a.m., prompting them to call the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department for a welfare check at 11:30 a.m., according to a Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigator.
By noon, the detective said officers arrived and were met with gunfire, leading to a standoff that lasted about two hours.
Hobbs was arrested after trying to evade officers, the official said, adding that the teen was not armed when he was arrested.
Carol Blair was found in a bedroom curled in a fetal position and had three gunshot wounds to the back of her head. Bill Blair was found lying on his back in the kitchen with three gunshot wounds to his face.
Three firearms were found inside the home as well as 280 shell casings, all of which belonged to Bill Blair, the state investigator said.
Hobbs’ defense attorney, Zachary Vu, said there is a lack of direct forensic evidence linking the teen to the shooting.
“There was no indication that he was the school principal, he was the one who pulled the trigger on these matters,” Fu said. “One of the things alone is that one of the victims was shot twice on one side of the head and once on the other side. I think it’s very compelling that someone else might have been there. There’s a lot of possible things, just an enormous amount of things.”
“When an officer says there was no one who could identify him at the time of the shooting, I don’t see how that can make sense,” he said.
Hobbs faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, in addition to 10 other charges. Bond was denied.
In a statement on Facebook, the couple’s family earlier said: “We are broken in spirit, bruised and heartbroken, but we are not alone.”
Jason Busby, who was a friend of the couple, recalled that they were very selfless when talked to WLBT.
“The guy would give you the shirt off his back, and his wife is the same, and they’re just wonderful people. It’s just a tragedy,” Busbee said. “Everyone here is still in shock. They were just good people.”