Colorado man and woman who were arrested out of state face charges in 2 southern Colorado killings
Authorities in Mississippi arrested a 46-year-old man this week on charges related to the killing of his 37-year-old housemate in southern Colorado and separate charges of killing another man. Johnny Rankin Morris was arrested along with Hailey Cole, 43, who also faces charges in the second murder case.
Morris is being held without bond until he is extradited back to Colorado, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Morris is charged with murder in the death of his housemate Stephen Walker. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation says Morris and Hailey Cole, 43, also face charges of killing Timmy Huston of Hartsel, Colorado.
The arrests of Morris and Cole in Poplarville, Mississippi, on Monday follow a multiple-week investigation in Colorado's El Paso County which started out as a missing person case.
The missing person investigation began on Dec. 19 at a home in the Cimarron Hills community in an unincorporated part of the county. The home is on the 1800 block of Pima Drive and blood was found in the garage. Five days later police found first the car of Walker and then body of Walker in what the El Paso County Sheriff's Office called a "wooded area" in neighboring Park County. On the same day, about a mile-and-a-half away, Huston was found dead in his home.
Police say they think Morris and Cole drove Huston's pickup truck out of state. Last weekend the truck was found in Lamar County, Mississippi. Two days later the pair was arrested.
An arrest warrant was issued in the Walker case, and on Friday the sheriff's office announced that Morris faces the following charges in Walker's death:
- first-degree murder
- tampering with a deceased human body
- tampering with physical evidence
The Colorado Bureau of investigation said on Friday an arrest warrant was issued for Morris and Cole on the following charges relating to Huston's death:
- first-degree murder
- aggravated robbery
- motor vehicle theft
- tampering with evidence
El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal called Walker's death a "tragic situation" in a news release.
"I speak for my entire Office when I say our heartfelt prayers are with Mr. Walker's family and friends as they navigate this," he said in a prepared statement. "Although there is no way to ease their broken hearts, we hope to ease their burden by holding the individual who senselessly took Stephen's life accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
A judge has sealed the arrest documents in the Walker case.
Anyone who has information about the investigation who thinks they can help the sheriff's office in the ongoing investigations is asked to call their tip line at 719-520-7777.
