The Murder of Jimmy McClain
For this case, I watched an episode of Nightmare Next Door. It’s season 10 episode 9, titled ‘Only the Good.’
A youth pastor and high school basketball coach, is found dead in his home.
Background
Jimmy McClain moved to the small town of Cordova, Tennessee in 1997. He settled in a nice home in a gated community.
A few years later, he married a woman named Carla, who had two children. Jimmy took them in, and treated them as his own. He also became a finance teacher at Ridgeway High School, coached the varsity basketball team, and was a youth pastor. Jimmy’s passions in life were teaching and God. He had been a star basketball player at the University of Central Arkansas, and had played alongside Scottie Pippen.
At the time of his death, Jimmy had been going through a divorce process with his estranged wife, which had been on and off for several years.
Jimmy McClain
The Crime Scene
On Friday, February 22, 2013, Jimmy didn’t show up to work for a second day in a row. This was unusual, so his co-workers contacted the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
The police were called to Jimmy’s home for a welfare check. The door was locked, and there was no answer at the door. A vehicle was found parked in the garage. The police contacted Jimmy’s colleagues to ask what kind of vehicle he drove. They were able to confirm that Jimmy’s white four- door was at the home.
The police looked in through the windows, and noticed a shell casing on the floor. They called for backup, and entered the home. Jimmy was found dead on the floor. He had been shot in the back of the head, and in the chest.
Several shell casings from a .40 caliber handgun were found throughout the house. There was no forced entry. Jimmy still had his wallet, keys, and his briefcase was found sitting on a nearby chair.
The police did find a rolled up towel near the front door, and muddy footprints. The footprints came from a size 10 or 11 athletic shoe. None of Jimmy’s shoes were a match.
Possible Suspects
Jimmy’s family had to find out about his death through social media, as the news about the case spread.
The police spoke to Jimmy’s sister, Easter. She described her brother as a pillar of the community. She also was surprised that there was no forced entry into his home, as Jimmy was very careful about who he let inside.
The police asked Easter about who would have access to his home. She said his estranged wife, step-kids, and new girlfriend, could possibly have keys to the home.
The police also learned that Jimmy had been killed on Wednesday, two days before he was found. A neighbor had heard gun shots between 8-10pm on that day, and his final text message was sent to his girlfriend, at 8:37pm.
The police questioned Jimmy’s girlfriend. She said she and Jimmy had met about 5 months earlier, and been in a long distance relationship. She said she lived in Nashville, and had been at home during the time of the murder.
The police found her story strange, since she seemed to know a lot of small details about the crime scene. She knew that Jimmy had entered the home through the garage, and where he placed his briefcase. She also revealed that she wasn’t happy that Jimmy and his estranged wife were on good terms. However, her phone records proved she had been in Nashville at the time of the murder.
The Estranged Family
The police questioned Jimmy’s estranged wife Carla, and her kids, who were now 25 and 19 years old.
They learned that she and Jimmy decided to divorce because Jimmy was strict, and she didn’t agree with his parenting style.
The police asked her if she had anything to gain from Jimmy’s death. She was very honest, and said she owned the home now, and was the beneficiary of Jimmy’s $400,000 life insurance policy. Everything still went to her until the divorce was final.
The police asked her where she had been on the night of the murder. She said she returned home from work around 5pm, talked to her son Dwayne, went into her room, and went to bed early. She willingly handed over her phone for the police to search. (More on that soon!)
Dwayne was questioned next. He revealed that he was at home, and had seen his mom like she claimed. He denied having a key to Jimmy’s house, and said he and Jimmy had been on good terms.
Jimmy’s step-daughter was ruled out. She had been at home with her child all night.
With no evidence against either of them, the police let them go.
Small Town Rumors
Several days passed, and all leads were dead ends.
The police decided to interview Jimmy’s colleagues, students, and players from the basketball team. There was a rumor that a former player named Nathan had been involved.
Nathan had illegally enrolled in school, and was actually in his 20’s. He enrolled hoping to play basketball, and earn a college scholarship. However, he was expelled after his secret was outed.
The police tried to contact Nathan, but he lawyered up. They were able to speak with his guardian, which turned out to be his wife. She revealed that she had been the one to expose his secret because he had cheated on her.
She said he had moved to Memphis after he was expelled. Nathan was ruled out, as he had been in Memphis during the time of the murder.
The Deleted Messages
The police turned back to Jimmy’s estranged wife. They were able to subpoena the full records from her phone. They learned that there were several deleted messages from a woman named Shana, and a known drug dealer named Robert Collins.
The police confronted Jimmy’s wife, who revealed that Shana was Dwayne’s girlfriend, and Robert was his best friend. She said that she shared the phone with Dwayne, and that he had actually left the home on the night of the murder.
The police reached out to Dwayne, who was refusing to talk. A search warrant was obtained for the home they shared. Nothing was found.
The police turned to Robert, and surveilled his home. Robert caught on, and tried to flee. As he fled, he tossed a gun, which the police recovered, as well as drugs that he was carrying. Robert was arrested on charges of felony narcotics and possession of a handgun.
The Jail House Calls
The gun was tested, but it wasn’t the gun that had killed Jimmy.
The police searched Robert’s cell phone records. He also had deleted messages, but the police were able to recover a photo that had been taken in Dwayne’s bedroom. It was of another handgun. The photo had been taken on Dwayne’s bed.
The police monitored Robert’s phone calls from jail. He spoke to a known criminal named Jamarius. On the call, Hank can be heard telling him to get rid of the pit bull (gun) that “brah,” (Dwayne) had sold him.
The police obtained a warrant for the home of Jamarius’s mother. She had recently kicked him out, but let the police search his room. In the closet, they found a shoebox. A Smith and Wesson was inside the shoebox, and in the gun were .40 caliber bullets.
The bullets and gun were the same ones that had killed Jimmy.
The Conviction
The police just had one more question, who made the shoe prints that had been found in Jimmy’s house?
The police questioned Dwayne’s girlfriend, who revealed that Dwayne had a pair of basketball shoes that were his favorite. The shoes were never recovered, but she said he wore a size 10 1/2.
On March 26, 2013, Dwayne was arrested and charged with Jimmy’s murder.
Dwayne went on trial in June 2o14. The prosecution believed that Dwayne killed Jimmy to get his hands on the life insurance money that his mom would be paid. He waited until Jimmy returned home around 8:30pm on February 20. He entered the home with his key, and shot Jimmy several times.
On June 17, 2014, Dwayne was convicted. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
He had also been charged with burglary before his arrest for murder. He had been accused of stealing a AR-15 Bushmaster rifle. He had been photographed with the gun.
No one else has ever been charged in connection with the murder.
Dwayne Moore
Other
Jimmy’s family started the Jimmy Fitzgerald McClain Endowed Scholarship Fund, created to help fund scholarships to encourage youth from various counties in Tennessee, pursue their educational dreams.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A person’s life was taken all because of money and greed. Dwayne claimed that he and his step-father were on good terms, which was obviously not the case. I wonder if Dwayne was still upset with Jimmy in someway about his strict parenting. It could be a mixture of both.
Dwayne deserves to be in prison for along time, so he doesn’t hurt anyone else.
Sources
https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/mooredwayneopn.pdf
https://www.actionnews5.com/story/21308367/deputies-respond-to-apparent-homicide-in-cordova/
https://501lifemag.com/family-creates-scholarship-fund-in-memory-of-jimmy-mcclain/
