YOKNAPATAWPHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Investigating Officer(s): Det. T. Armstrong, Det. S. Murphy
Incident No.: 005533-26J-2024
Case Description: Laurie Daniels homicide investigation
Callie Shivers worked with YCSD investigators to assemble a probable timeline for Laurie Daniels' whereabouts since she left Oxford in 2017. The dates and locations are based on Ms. Shivers' recollections and on mementos she had saved, such as postcards received from Laurie Daniels.
Investigators were unable to pinpoint Laurie Daniels' movements during 2017 and early 2018 before she met Callie Shivers.
To find a specific date on the map, click the relevant entry in the list below the map.
A text-only listing of dates, locations and events is available below.
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June 7, 2018, Manchester, Tennessee—Callie Shivers and Laurie Daniels met for the first time at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. They talked and smoked pot all afternoon.
June 10, 2018, Manchester, Tennessee—Shivers admitted that she and Daniels had become friends very quickly. On the final day of Bonnaroo, they shared a kiss for the first time. Shivers invited Daniels to join Kitten Sack on tour, and Daniels agrees.
July 19, 2018, Chicago, Illinois—Daniels' first trip to Chicago. She and Shivers arrived without enough money to get a separate room from the other members of Kitten Sack, so they picked pockets to get the cash. Stayed for the Pitchfork, Lollapalooza, and Riot Fest music festivals.
September 18, 2018, Chicago, Illinois—Daniels, Shivers, and the rest of Kitten Sack left Chicago. They played small gigs on the way from Illinois to Texas for the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
October 2, 2018, Austin, Texas—Daniels, Shivers, and the band arrived in Austin for Austin City Limits.
October 15, 2018, Austin, Texas—Kitten Sack decided to stay in Austin to work with a local music producer. Daniels stayed with them.
October 22, 2018, Austin, Texas—Daniels and Shivers rented a cheap apartment in Austin. Worked odd jobs and lived there until March 2019. This time was marked by the death of one of their close friends from alcohol poisoning.
March 8-17, 2019, Austin, Texas—Daniels, Shivers, and the other band members attended South by Southwest (SXSW). Kitten Sack played a gig opening for another band.
March 16, 2019, Austin, Texas—Daniels and Shivers got separated at SXSW. According to Shivers, Daniels had been in a daze all week and wandered away from their group.
March 20, 2019, Austin, Texas—Shivers and the rest of Kitten Sack couldn't wait any longer for Daniels to return. They went back on the road to play gigs on the way to Coachella.
April 20, 2019, Indio, California—Daniels and Shivers are reunited at Kitten Sack's gig at Coachella. Daniels said she fell in with a crowd of guys who treated her like a goddess. She hinted they performed sexual favors for her. Shivers was angry at the rejection.
May 4, 2019, Long Beach, California—Daniels and Shivers had their first major argument in the midst of drugged-out depression during the Just Like Heaven Music Festival. Both suffered from poor health.
May 6, 2019, Long Beach, California—Shivers and Kitten Sack left to return to Oxford to work on their next album. Daniels refused to go back to Oxford and stayed in California.
(The remaining entries are speculation.
Some of Laurie's stops are known but not her path.)
June 14, 2019, Manchester, Tennessee—Daniels sent Shivers a postcard, reminiscing about their first meeting here a year before. The postcard was melancholy, and Shivers worried about her.
July 4, 2019, Quincy, California—Daniels called Shivers from the High Sierra Music Festival. Said she was staying with friends who Shivers didn’t know, and they were taking a lot of peyote.
July 10, 2019, Las Vegas, Nevada—In a phone call, Daniels told Shivers she had been arrested with a large group of people she'd been spending time with. To Shivers' best recollection, Daniels and several friends had gone to an impromptu party in the desert, and a physical altercation had broken out. They were all taken to jail for a night's stay.
July 22, 2019>,Chicago, Illinois—Shivers received a postcard from Daniels, who wrote, "The nightlife is killing me. Had to go in for a couple of days of doctoring. They call it fatigue. Love ya, Laurie."
September 19, 2019, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico—Shivers received a postcard from Daniels, who had journeyed down to Mexico for a vacation with friends. Daniels wrote, "Seeing the weirdest things down here, People pay to watch a senorita XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. I love it! Maybe we could get a job down here. Love ya, Laurie"
October 31, 2019, New Orleans, Louisiana—Daniels left a message on Shivers' voicemail. She was crying, saying that she was sad because some friends had given their dog a tab of acid a week before, and it was still acting crazy. She said that she had been kidnapped and brought here but not to worry. Daniels was highly intoxicated and made little sense during the lengthy message.
November 19, 2019, Seattle, Washington—Shivers received a postcard from Daniels saying that she was in Seattle for the Freakout Fest, and everything was great.
December 31, 2019, Atlanta, Georgia—Daniels telephoned Shivers on New Year's Eve and was terrified because she was having a bad acid trip. Shivers spent four hours on the phone talking her down.
February 14, 2020, New York City, New York—Daniels called Shivers to wish her a Happy Valentine's Day. She said she was staying with friends and seemed to be sober for once.
February 22, 2020, Starkville, Mississippi—Daniels was in Mississippi with a friend's band who was playing a show at Mississippi State University. Shivers went to visit, and they stayed in a cheap motel for two days. They got along well.
February 27, 2020, New Orleans, Louisiana—Daniels telephoned Shivers and told her she was staying with friends.
March 9, 2020, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—Shivers received a postcard from Daniels saying she was visiting a friend there.
March 18, 2020, Chattanooga, Tennessee—Daniels wrote a long letter to Shivers telling her that with all the uncertainty in the world and the fact that there wouldn't be any music festivals for the foreseeable future, she was making her way back to New Orleans where she planned to stay permanently.
2020-2024, New Orleans, Louisiana—Shivers received phone calls and letters from Daniels during this period when she lived in New Orleans. Oftentimes, she was at Dr. Yah Yah's apartment, but occasionally, she was staying with different friends. Shivers and Forrest Burgess visited Daniels in New Orleans in November 2023.
May 25, 2024, Jackson, Mississippi—Daniels and Shivers spent Memorial Day weekend together, which Daniels paid for. They parted on bad terms.
August 25, 2024, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—Shivers got a phone call from Daniels to say she was coming to town and asking Shivers to pick her up at the airport in Memphis.
August 27, 2024, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—Shivers got a phone call from Daniels to say she did not need Shivers to pick her up at the airport.
September 1, 2024, Memphis, Tennessee—Daniels' flight was scheduled to arrive in Memphis at 6:48 p.m.
October 26, 2024, Taylor, Mississippi—YCSD officers found Daniels' head in a bucket near Taylor Creek.