Jerri Roby: Mississippi woman gets life sentence after pleading guilty to killing her son and hiding his body behind a false wall

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A Mississippi woman will spend the rest of her life in prison after pleading guilty to the 2023 killing of her adult son, whose body was later found hidden behind a wall inside her Gulfport home.

Jerri Roby, 69, admitted in Harrison County court that she killed her son, 42-year-old John Allen Gaither, and concealed his body in a large wooden box behind a false wall in the front part of the house, according to statements from investigators and prosecutors.



The case began in late December 2023 when Gaither’s brother contacted Gulfport police and reported that he had not heard from him for about a week, leading to a missing person’s report.

When some officers went to check on Gaither’s welfare, Roby, who lived with her son, told police that he had left in an Uber and traveled to Louisiana to buy a car. 

Investigators later reviewed Gaither’s Uber account and said they found no activity to support that claim, as per PEOPLE.

Gaither’s stepmother, who lived in California, also reached out to police and said she had received a letter she believed was from Gaither. The letter said he had gone to the Philippines to meet a woman.

As investigators dug deeper, they learned that Roby had used several aliases and had a previous murder conviction in Florida in 1995. That information led officers back to her home, where they received permission to search the property.

During that search, investigators found a Home Depot receipt from the Gulfport area showing purchases made about a week before the missing person report was filed. 

The receipt listed 15 bags of sand, two rolls of patch and seal tape, straw and a dumpster bag. Investigators later learned she had also made an earlier trip to Home Depot and bought plastic sheets, soil and tape, but despite investigative efforts, Gaither remained missing.





According to police reports, the investigation took another turn in early January 2024, when Gaither’s brother and stepmother separately contacted law enforcement again. 

This time, they said they had received a phone call, text messages and a letter from Gaither, but they did not believe he had actually sent them.

In January 2024, the Gulfport Police Department obtained a search warrant for the home, and during the search, officers found a fake wall in the front part of the house. 

Behind it, they located a large wooden box containing Gaither’s body, covered with the same kinds of materials Roby had purchased at Home Depot.

Police said an autopsy showed Gaither died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head, as reported by Cleveland19 News.

As officers arrested and removed Roby from the home, she swallowed pharmaceutical pills and was taken to a hospital for treatment. 

However, after she was released, police interviewed her. During that interview, Roby admitted she had forged the letters sent to family members, sent text messages while pretending to be Gaither, and convinced her boyfriend to call family members while acting as if he were Gaither. 

Assistant District Attorney Matthew D. Burrell said Roby also took Gaither’s cell phone to Florida and used it to make calls so the phone would connect through cellular towers there.

At her plea hearing, Roby told the court that she shot Gaither in the “spur of the moment” to put him “out of his misery” because of his depression.

Judge Randi P. Mueller did not accept that explanation. She pointed to the purchases Roby had made before the killing and the false information she gave police after Gaither was reported missing.

District Attorney Crosby Parker said the guilty plea brought an end to a case that had drawn investigators through a long trail of false statements, hidden evidence and attempts to mislead family members.

“Today, this 69-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and will spend the remainder of her life in prison,” Parker said. “We hope today’s guilty plea and sentence provide a measure of justice, accountability, and closure for the victim’s loved ones and all those affected by this heartless crime.”

“Despite the extraordinary efforts this defendant made to distance herself from the murder and mislead investigators, they remained steadfast in their commitment and ultimately brought her to justice,” Parker added.

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