FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Greg Flynn, 601-850-2324 or gflynn@cityofpearl.com
Pearl Public Information Officer
Pearl Police Determine Murder-Suicide in Shooting
Pearl, Miss- Pearl Police Investigators have ruled the shooting on Pemberton Drive on Saturday, May 25, a murder-suicide. Investigators say 62-year-old Joseph Frank shot and killed 58-year-old Claude “Billy” Collins after firing numerous shots through the front door. Frank, who was living as a guest in Collins’ home, then shot and killed himself.
Police received several 9-1-1 calls from residents at 4:59 p.m. of a man suffering gunshot wounds laying in the front yard at 636 Pemberton Drive. When officers arrived, they found Collins shot multiple times on the front walkway. Collins was transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson where he died from his injuries.
Upon searching the house, officers found Frank deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. An autopsy preformed at the Mississippi Crime Lab confirmed Frank died of suicide.
Police have not determined a motive for the shooting.