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Authorities said two individuals, identified as Inman and Pevahouse, are charged with criminal conspiracy to commit premeditated first-degree murder. Inman also faces an additional charge of solicitation to commit premeditated first-degree murder.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation assisted in the case, though officials have not released further details.

The grand jury, empaneled June 1, also indicted Damaris Neal, Kamron White, Nasir Barr, Pierce Whitelow Jr., and Joseph McCaine on charges of premeditated first-degree murder in the April 16 death of 23-year-old Jaylien Kimble.

Kimble, an inmate at the Dyer County Jail, was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead at a hospital. Investigators said he suffered a traumatic head injury.

In a separate case, Roy Michael Lemons was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and sale or delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance, methamphetamine, in connection with the Jan. 30 overdose death of Katrina Olds.

The indictment follows the earlier arrest of Jeremiah Johnson, who also faces a second-degree murder charge in the same case.

The sheriff’s office said the indictments are the result of hundreds of investigative hours by its Criminal Investigation Division and reflect an ongoing effort to hold individuals accountable for violent crimes and drug-related deaths in the community.

29th Judicial District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr. will prosecute all three cases.

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KYOTO, Japan (BFMG) — A massive search is underway in Kyoto for a 20-year-old Alabama college student who disappeared while vacationing with his family in Japan. Authorities, local residents and U.S. officials are working together as the family looks for James “Weston” Higginbotham, an Auburn University student and graduate of Spain Park High School. [WBRC]

The family arrived in Japan on Friday, May 22, to celebrate one of their children earning straight A’s throughout high school. “Our family just has this thing where we’ve always told the kids, ‘If you make straight A’s throughout high school, you can pick anywhere in the world you want to go,’” their mother, Nancy Higginbotham, told WBRC. The younger son, a straight-A student, chose Japan, and the family embarked on what had been a “wonderful trip.”

“It’s been absolutely the most stunning country,” she said, describing how they started in Tokyo and visited other places before arriving in Kyoto — where Weston went missing on Friday, May 29.

Weston went out on his own to explore the city that day, his mother said. The family is well-traveled, and Weston has studied abroad, so he is extremely comfortable navigating new places. Nancy Higginbotham described him as a “master navigator” who uses public transit and is in good physical shape, making him well-equipped to go out on his own in a country many consider very safe.

CCTV footage showed Weston getting off a train in Yamashina, a ward of Kyoto. His last known purchase was made at a hardware store, his mother said. The family sent him messages asking what he was doing, but he never replied. His phone location turned off around 8:29 p.m., and they have not heard from him since.

Weston Higginbotham has blond hair and blue eyes and is 6 feet 1 inch tall. He was last seen wearing a shirt with a white front and “Save the Bees” on the back with two bumblebees, lavender corduroy pants with a large cuff, white Adidas shoes with black stripes and wide shoelaces, and a shoulder bag with the state of Alabama on it.

On Wednesday, June 3, about 12:30 p.m. Japan time, Nancy Higginbotham spoke with WBRC and said authorities were searching the Yamashina Woods earlier that morning. Surveillance cameras helped narrow his last known location to Yamashina Station. She said 50 local policemen, K-9 units and helicopters began searching the wooded area north of the station around 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The Japanese government, local authorities and citizens have joined together in the effort to find Weston and support the family. “Japanese citizens have been so amazing,” Nancy Higginbotham said. “They have come together like Weston is their child. I have people going on a train for three hours to help hand out flyers. It’s people just coming to translate, and to help and to go search in the woods.”

She praised Japanese authorities for their work and credited the U.S. Embassy and other U.S. representatives for their support of the family. Community members from Alabama have also reached out to offer prayers and support, which she said has meant a great deal as they navigate this situation.

“You realize, community is everything,” Nancy Higginbotham said. “People come together to help others deal with their tragedy and trauma. It’s absolutely incredible, but not just in the U.S. The Japanese citizens, I could cry telling you how wonderful they have been.”

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Robert Ian Nelms was arrested last week on a warrant out of Grand Traverse County, Michigan. The warrant is connected to a first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge stemming from an alleged incident that occurred while Nelms lived in Michigan.

Nelms is a co-owner of Cremation Society of South Carolina, which operates locations in Greenville and Seneca. He is awaiting extradition to Michigan.

Public records show Nelms has previously been linked to controversies and legal issues involving the funeral industry. Additional details about the Michigan allegations have not been released.

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Alicia Andrews was found guilty in October 2024 of one count of manslaughter for her role in Jones’ death. Prosecutors said Andrews assisted her then-boyfriend and three other men in tracking and stalking Jones as he moved between nightclubs in Tampa prior to the shooting.

Jones was shot multiple times in a Tampa parking lot in 2024 after being pursued, according to investigators.

Andrews was the first of five defendants charged in the case to go to trial and the only one who did not face the death penalty.

Four co-defendants — Rashad Murphy, Davion Murphy, Sean Gathright and Isaiah Chance — were convicted earlier this month in a separate trial on charges including first-degree murder and conspiracy. A jury recommended life sentences for the men. Formal sentencing is scheduled for next month.

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MILWAUKEE (BFMG) — A 31-year-old Milwaukee woman is charged in the death of her 3-month-old son after investigators found fentanyl and other drugs in the infant’s system, according to a criminal complaint.

Tashae Goodman faces charges of first-degree reckless homicide and chronic neglect of a child resulting in death.

Police say Goodman called 911 at 3:41 a.m. March 22, reporting her infant was not breathing and telling dispatchers she had slept on the child. First responders arrived at a residence near North 19th Street and West Fairmount Avenue and attempted life-saving measures, but the infant was pronounced dead.

Investigators determined the child had no known medical conditions and had not recently been ill. Goodman told authorities she fed the baby every three to four hours and routinely kept the child with her, including while sleeping.

According to the complaint, Goodman said she spent March 21 at home with her 10-year-old son and the infant. She described the day as normal. Around 1 a.m. March 22, she fed and changed the baby, then placed him on a sectional couch about an hour later. She said she lay on the outside while the infant was positioned between her and the back of the couch.

Goodman told investigators she awoke around 3:40 a.m. and found the infant wedged between the couch cushions. The complaint states the baby was bleeding from the nose and head and was not breathing. Goodman called 911 and began CPR.

An autopsy found no signs of trauma, illness or disease, prompting a toxicology analysis.

Investigators later reviewed recorded jail calls between Goodman and the child’s father. According to the complaint, Goodman’s speech was slurred during a March 20 call. On March 22, she informed the father the infant had died and later asked him, “Should I go to detox?”

Toxicology results returned April 30 showed fentanyl in a baby bottle used during the infant’s last feeding. The infant’s blood also tested positive for morphine and xylazine, authorities said.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide caused by mixed drug toxicity.

During a May 15 interview with detectives, Goodman said the drugs may have come from substances she used while pregnant. She acknowledged prior Percocet use but denied using drugs after the child’s birth, claiming residue may have contaminated the bottle.

Detectives confronted Goodman with evidence of a May 12 overdose in her vehicle while picking up her 10-year-old from school. Milwaukee firefighters administered Narcan to revive her, the complaint states. Goodman told investigators she had been asleep.

A school staff member reported Goodman frequently failed to pick up her child and did not answer calls. The 10-year-old told investigators his mother was regularly under the influence of drugs and that he had multiple school absences as a result.

Goodman is scheduled to appear in court this week.

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