By Bonnie Culverhouse
Any day now, Minden Police may make an arrest in the 2017 unsolved murder of Tyrone Sumlin.
Det. Sgt. Shane Griffith said Thursday afternoon there are new leads in the case.
“We have really turned it up the last couple of months,” Griffith said. “We interviewed some of the people who were initially interviewed, and we’ve come across new information that has led to a person of interest.”
Griffith said it also allowed investigators to rule out other suspects.
“We’ve conducted polygraph exams, administered by Louisiana State Police,” he said. “Through those examinations, some evidence has been obtained and sent off and is being analyzed now.”
Griffith said he expects the findings any day.
An initial amount of $2,000 in reward money received a boost of $1,000 by Ward Marshal Dan Weaver, Griffith said. Then others followed suit.
“He (Weaver) was instrumental in getting the rest of the money donated for the reward. It’s up to $10,000 now,” he said. “We expect the reward to go up because we’ve had several calls from people offering to contribute.”
Sumlin was 33 years old September 3, 2017 when he was shot in the back of the head with a .380 caliber handgun in the front yard of a Quarles Street residence.
“He knew his mama loved him,” said Ruthie Sumlin, Tyrone’s mother. “We’d talked that day on the phone – it was about 5:54 in the afternoon – that was the last thing I said to him. ‘Son, I love you.’ He said, ‘Mama, I love you, too.’”
Ms. Sumlin received the call no mother wants to get around 11:30 that night.
“I just appreciate all of y’all for what you are doing,” Ms. Sumlin said Thursday. “Shane has never given up. I hear from him all the time, almost every day. I hear from Chief Cropper, too. They won’t give up..”
Ms. Sumin said she knows there is someone who has information about her son’s death.
“This is the time, I just beg you to come forward,” she said. “I don’t want anyone else to go through this. It’s with you every day of your life. You can’t get away from it.”
Griffith urged anyone with information to call his personal cell phone, 318-505-8443.
“I won’t give up until this case is solved,” he said. “Chief (Steve) Cropper wants it solved, too. He’s not running for re-election, and I’ve told him, we will get it solved before he leaves office.”
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