Cold Case Murders Solved
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Jackson Police say the have solved two ‘cold’ murder cases. Murder and robbery indictments were returned last week on Walter James Stitts, 48, of Jackson. He’s accused in the 1998 murder of Cornelius Martinez and the 2008 murder of James Gruggett. Martinez was found in the trunk of a car on East Chester Street and Gruggett was found face-down in Muse Park. It was later determined that both men had been strangled and robbed. “I feel that we are going to be successful at prosecuting both these cases” says Lt. Tyreece Miller of the Jackson Police Department. “But just the fact for [family members] to know that someone is going to be held accountable was just a very joyful moment for them” Miller adds. Monday, the Jackson Police Department released this statement about the cases: “Walter Stitts Charged in 1998 and 2008 Cold Case Murders On July 5 Jackson police investigators presented evidence in two cold case murders to the Madison County Grand Jury. Indictments were returned on Walter James Stitts, 48, of Jackson. He stands charged with first degree murder, felony murder and robbery in the 1998 murder of Cornelius Martinez, of Cedar Grove, who was 71-years-old at the time of his death. Stitts is also charged with first degree murder, felony murder and robbery in the 2008 murder of James Gruggett, of Greenfield, who was 31-years-old when he was killed. Stitts was transported from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville on Friday by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and booked at the county jail. He was formally arraigned this morning in Madison County Circuit Court, Division I. On July 7, 1998, around 4:45 p.m., Jackson police received a call of a suspicious vehicle on the parking lot of Camp’s Supermarket at 1013 E. Chester. A witness reported seeing the car parked in the same place since 6 a.m. the day before. When officers arrived, they determined that the car had not been reported stolen, appeared to be abandoned and had a foul odor emanating from the trunk. The car, which was registered to Martinez, was towed to the police department and a locksmith was called to open the trunk. The body of a decomposed man was found inside. He was later identified as Martinez and the cause of death was manual strangulation. The initial investigation determined that Martinez had been robbed. On September 21, 2008, around 3 p.m., Jackson police received a call that a man had been discovered unresponsive, lying face down, in a wooded area on the north side of Muse Park. He was identified as Gruggett. Evidence at the scene suggested that he had at least been there overnight, and he had been robbed. The initial autopsy indicated the cause of death was undetermined, but highly suspicious and asphyxiation could not be ruled out. Violent Crimes investigators pursued leads and developed Stitts as a suspect very early on in both investigations; however, the cases went cold due to lack of sufficient evidence to file murder charges. In July 2009, the Jackson Police Department received a grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and implemented a Cold Case Investigative Unit. Their primary function was focusing on unsolved homicides. By building on evidence gathered over the years, the cold case investigators were not only able to utilize their medical expertise and resources to establish Gruggett’s cause of death as traumatic asphyxia, but also further link Stitts to both murders. Stitts has been incarcerated since September 22, 2010, after he was arrested by Jackson police for strangling a 60-year-old Big Sandy man on September 19 and leaving him unconscious on the south side of Muse Park. Stitts then took the man’s wallet, car keys and car. He was on parole at the time, so his parole was revoked and he was sent back to prison. His parole is due to expire in 2022. He pleaded guilty to robbery, theft of property over $1000 and violation of sex offender proximity regulations in April of this year for the Muse Park attack. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison which is consecutive to the parole violation.
