Background: News footage captures the aftermath of the incident where Tony Morris killed his wife, Kathleen Morris, on August 26, 2024 (WAPT). Inset: Image of Tony Morris (Hinds County Sheriff’s Office).
A Mississippi man who told 911 dispatchers that he shot his wife of 31 years is now going to prison for her murder.
Tony Morris, 67, was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday of the first-degree murder of his wife, Kathleen Morris, aged 64. As reported by local ABC affiliate WAPT, deputies from the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office reached the couple’s residence in Terry, Mississippi, approximately at 7:15 a.m. on August 26, 2024, where they discovered Kathleen Morris deceased due to a gunshot wound in her upper body.
The one who called 911 to report the shooting was her estranged husband, Tony Morris.
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At the scene, WAPT interviewed Tony Morris’s brother, who mentioned that the couple was undergoing a divorce. Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones verified that Tony Morris “called dispatch and admitted to shooting his wife.”
Tony Morris was taken into custody and named the sole suspect.
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While no specific reason was given for the shooting, Hinds County District Attorney Jodi E. Owens II stated, “A single moment of anger ended a 31-year marriage and took a life. Kathleen Morris lost her life during a moment of escalation that should have never happened.”
Owens added, “This case is an example of how quickly violence can overtake reason, and why prevention matters just as much as prosecution. As a community, this is why we must create space for people to ask for help, and support systems that respond before violence becomes the outcome.”
Tony Morris was convicted of deliberate design murder and sentenced to life in prison in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
