Neighbor canvass
Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's investigators canvassed homes near the residence of Brenda and Jasmine Ledbetter at 17 Van Buren Avenue.
They were looking for potential witnesses who saw or heard anything on the afternoon or evening of Saturday, May 11, 2024, the date Jasmine Ledbetter was last seen alive.
The interviews summarized are some of the most typical or relevant to the investigation and are representative of all interviews conducted.
14 Van Buren Ave
Jimmy Wilkins
14 Van Buren Avenue
Jimmy Wilkins, age 15, said he saw Brenda Ledbetter's car drive away the evening of May 11 when he was returning home from the movies. Wilkins was unsure of the exact time but thought it was around 6:00 p.m.
Wilkins said he saw the back of Ledbetter's car as it was going down the street away from him. Wilkins said the Ledbetters' garage door was shut at that time, and he didn't see Jasmine.
Wilkins said he did not see any unfamiliar vehicles at the Ledbetters' residence or in the vicinity around that time.
18 Van Buren Ave
Mrs. Sandra Ashcroft
18 Van Buren Avenue
Mrs. Ashcroft, age 50, lives across the street from the Ledbetters. She said she knows Brenda and Jasmine Ledbetter by sight but doesn't really know them well because Ashcroft has only lived on Van Buren Avenue for a few months.
Ashcroft said she was home the afternoon and evening of May 11 but didn't notice anything strange or different about that day.
Ashcroft said she left in her car about 3:30 p.m. to run an errand, and when she returned an hour later, Brenda Ledbetter's car was in the driveway. Ashcroft said she went into her house and didn't notice any unfamiliar vehicles on the block.
19 Van Buren Ave
Joe Forrester
19 Van Buren Avenue
Mr. Forrester, 40, lives next door to the Ledbetters. He said he was working on his car in the driveway until about 5:15 p.m., when he went into the house to clean up.
Forrester said he heard a car and looked outside around 6:00 p.m. and saw Brenda Ledbetter pull her car out of the garage into the driveway. He said he didn't see any other cars and couldn't say exactly what time she left.
Forrester said he took his dog outside in the yard around 6:15 p.m. and saw no strange cars at the Ledbetters' residence or in the vicinity, nor did he notice Jasmine Ledbetter outside waiting for anyone.
Forrester said he did not see Brenda Ledbetter return home that evening but thought he heard a car pull into the Ledbetters' driveway around the fifth inning of the Astros-Tigers baseball game. Forrester said he did not look to see who it was because he was watching the game.
Forrester said he did not remember hearing any other vehicles at the Ledbetters' residence that night or seeing any unfamiliar vehicles in the vicinity.
27 Van Buren Ave
Rosie Belfast
27 Van Buren Avenue
Ms. Belfast, age 33, said she didn't know the Ledbetters and wouldn't know what the mother, the daughter, or their car looked like.
Belfast added that she had neither the time nor the inclination to care what was happening with people who lived half a block away.
