Miss. kidnapping, murder suspect nabbed in Tuscaloosa
Published 12:04 am Sunday, February 24, 2008
A Mississippi man accused of killing a woman’s fiance and then taking her captive in an apparent domestic dispute has been arrested and the woman found unhurt.
Tuscaloosa police spokesman Officer Robert Fourt said Benjamin Joseph Clark, 24, was arrested about 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Police said Caroline Cockrell, 25, was found unharmed and in good health.
Capt. Loyd Baker, commander of the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit, said Clark was booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail where he remained Friday awaiting an extradition hearing.
Cockrell went home to Jackson, Miss., Thursday afternoon.
Jackson police spokesman Sgt. Jeffrey Scott said Clark allegedly stabbed Henry Joseph Ledlow 22, to death about 1 a.m. Thursday during a fight at an apartment complex.
Scott said witnesses ran from the fight scene and called police, telling officers that Clark forced Cockrell into her 2001 Toyota Camry and drove away.
“We’re trying to determine the extent of their relationship,” Scott said. “However, we believe this entire incident stems from a domestic altercation.”
He said the vehicle was spotted about 5 a.m. near the Alabama-Mississippi state line. Three hours later, Tuscaloosa police officers spotted the vehicle in the parking lot of a Motel 6 and made the arrest.