Alibi status summaries
YOKNAPATAWPHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Investigating Officer(s): Det. T. Armstrong, Det. S. Murphy
Incident No.: 002394-12E-2024
Case Description: Jasmine Ledbetter homicide investigation
Investigators have compiled the following summary of the witnesses' alibis for the window of time when Jasmine Ledbetter is believed to have been killed (between 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, 2024, and midnight on Sunday, May 12, 2024). Information on the results of attempts to verify the alibis is also included.
Confirmation types:
- Yes = The alibi was confirmed for the entire time period
- No = No part of the alibi could be corroborated.
- Tentative = Corroboration for all or part of the witness's time comes from someone with a personal relationship with the witness.
- Partially = Part of the alibi was confirmed or tentatively confirmed, but one or more portions of the witness's time remain uncorroborated.
Ashley Beckwith
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Description: The victim's boyfriend's ex-girlfriend Alibi: In her second interview, Beckwith said she was watching Christopher Wooten's house from 7:00-11:00 p.m. Confirmed? No. None of the residents near 213 South 17th Street could remember seeing Beckwith parked there during the time in question. |
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Mark Eldridge
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Description: Found the body Alibi: Eldridge said he found the body between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m. on May 12, 2024, while he was looking for a good hunting location in the woods off Highway 7 south of Regional Center Drive. Confirmed? Yes. In their interviews, Eldridge's hunting buddies verified that they met around 5:00 and then dispersed to various locations until they heard sirens approaching the location a short time later. All said they believed Eldridge would not have had time to kill anyone during the time they were separated. The coroner's time of death estimate puts the murder well before Eldridge arrived in the woods. Eldridge's neighbors indicated they believed he was home the night of Saturday, May 11, 2024. |
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Scott Knapp
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Description: The victim's potential employer Alibi: In his first interview, Knapp said he had only talked to Jasmine on the phone and had never met her in person. He said he had planned to pick her up at her home for their 6:30 interview appointment, but she phoned him at 5:00 p.m. and left a message on his voicemail to cancel the ride. In his 2nd interview, Knapp said when Jasmine didn't show up for the appointment by 6:45, he tried to phone her but didn't reach her. He said he was at home all evening, but to his knowledge, no one could verify that. Confirmed? No. None of Knapp's neighbors could be certain he was at home during the time of the murder. |
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Brenda Ledbetter
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Description: The victim's mother Alibi: In her first interview, Brenda said she last saw Jasmine around 6:00 p.m. when Brenda left home to run errands and Jasmine was waiting in the garage for a ride to her interview. In her second interview, Brenda said she returned home around 7:00-7:30 p.m., and the grocery store clerk could verify seeing her at the store that evening. Confirmed? No. In the canvass of Brenda's neighbors, two neighbors, Wilkins and Forrester, said they saw Brenda leave around 6:00 p.m. but did not see Jasmine at that time. Forrester also said he thought he heard a car pull into the Ledbetters' driveway around halftime of the Sunday Night Football game (approximately 9:00-9:30 p.m.), but he did not see whether it was Brenda returning or someone else arriving. None of the grocery store employees could be certain that Brenda was in the store on the evening of May 11, 2024. |
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Kevin Ledbetter
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Description: The victim's father Alibi: In his first interview, Kevin said he was home Sunday evening, and his wife, Shannon, could verify it. Confirmed? Tentatively. In her interview, Shannon said she was with her husband all evening. However, investigators did not find anyone without a personal relationship with Kevin who could provide independent confirmation. |
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Shannon Ledbetter
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Description: The victim's stepmother Alibi: In her interview, Mrs. Ledbetter said she was with Kevin, her husband, all evening. Confirmed? Tentatively. In his first interview, Kevin said he was with his wife all evening. However, investigators did not find anyone without a personal relationship with Shannon who could provide independent confirmation. |
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Megan McDowell
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Description: The victim's best friend Alibi: In her first interview, McDowell said she had no plans to pick up Jasmine from the interview or for them to spend the night at McDowell's residence that night, as Jasmine's mother had told detectives. In her second interview, McDowell said she last saw Jasmine the week before the murder but talked to her on the phone almost every day, most recently on May 10, 2024. McDowell said she was at home on the evening of May 11, 2024. Confirmed? No. None of McDowell's neighbors could be certain she was at home during the time of the murder. |
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Christopher Wooten
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Description: The victim's boyfriend Alibi: In his first interview, Wooten said he was fishing alone at Sardis Lake on the day of the murder. In his second interview, he said he left home at 11:00 a.m. to go to Sardis Lake and left the lake around 5:30 p.m. He estimated he got home between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. because he stopped at Huddle House on his way home. He said classmate Michael Rainey saw him at Huddle House. Wooten said he was home studying for the rest of the night. Confirmed? Partially. No witnesses were found who saw Wooten at Sardis Lake, but Michael Rainey said that he went to Huddle House between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. and saw Wooten while he was there. No witnesses were found who could verify that Wooten was at home the rest of the night of May 11, 2024. |
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