Kaila Morris -- Columbus, Mississippi -- Missing Since September 17, 2009

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=4036
Mother: Dogs should help in search for missing woman
December 8, 2009
 The mother of a Columbus woman missing since Sept. 17 feels the official search for her daughter has ended, but Lowndes County Sheriff's Office authorities say they're still looking for Kaila Morris.


Morris, 21, was last seen by her stepfather, Robert Warren Triplett Jr., leaving the house he shared with her mother, Bonnie Morris Triplett, at 181 Golding Road.


"To be honest, they've stopped searching," Bonnie Triplett, who was vacationing in Florida when Morris disappeared, said Monday. "I don't know anything new and I can't tell you anything new. I feel that there are other properties that need searching using the cadaver dogs, but I have not been able to arrange that yet.


"I'm getting a lot of support from the people in the community wanting to do things to help, but the official search seems to be at a standstill at this time," she added.


"We still haven't had much of a lead on it," said LCSO Investigator Tony Perkins of the Morris case. "We haven't had any breaks in it. We're still looking."


Perkins noted authorities still are searching with dogs specially trained in the detection of human remains. "We'd be glad for anybody with any kind of information (on Morris) to give us a call," he said, adding, "very, very few tips have come in."


A part-time Mississippi State University student, who owned a Starkville condominium, Morris also worked at The Cookie Store in Leigh Mall.


Robert Triplett Jr. said he saw Morris leave the Golding Road home Sept. 17, in a dark-colored van or sport utility vehicle with an unknown person or people.


Robert Triplett, 56, this month pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges in U.S. District Court.


He was arrested by the LCSO Oct. 3 on charges of exploitation of children after pornographic images of minors were retrieved from family computers during the course of the investigation into Morris' disappearance; his trial is scheduled for Feb. 1 in Oxford.


Robert Triplett Jr., who had past arrests for sex crimes in Mississippi and Louisiana, was on non-adjudicated probation from 2003 charges of attempted sexual battery in Jackson County.


Morris is about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 230 pounds, with brownish-blond, waist-length hair, green-gray eyes and a rose tattoo on a toe, as well as a tattoo of a white and gray wolf head on her right hip and a star and moon tattoo on her lower back.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=4583
Child porn case delayed until April
January 27, 2010
 The trial of a Lowndes County man arrested on child pornography charges during an investigation into his missing stepdaughter has been continued.

Robert Warren Triplett Jr., 56, of 181 Golding Road, earlier pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of activities regarding materials constituting or containing child pornography.

His trial initially was scheduled for Feb. 1 in Oxford before Chief Justice Mike Mills, but now has been rescheduled for April 12, according to court documents.

Triplett was arrested in October when investigators found explicit photos of minor children on a computer obtained from his home during an investigation into the disappearance of his stepdaughter.

Triplett’s stepdaughter, Kaila Morris, 21, has been missing since Sept. 17, when she was last seen by Triplett, who said she left the home he shared with Morris’ mother, Bonnie Morris Triplett, in a dark-colored van or sport utility vehicle, with an unknown person or people.

Morris’ mother was vacationing in Florida at the time.

Robert Triplett was arrested after a prayer service for Morris. Volunteers had searched for Morris before the service. Authorities have said Triplett is not connected to Morris’ disappearance.

Triplett, who had past arrests for sex crimes in Mississippi and Louisiana, was on non-adjudicated probation from 2003 charges of attempted sexual battery in Jackson County.

Triplett’s attorney is Gary Goodwin of Columbus.

U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner of U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oxford is prosecuting the case.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=5553
Regional police agencies unite to solve old crimes
April 2, 2010

 “Murdered!!”

Red and white signs still are peppered throughout the city of Columbus, displaying the faces of senior citizens killed in the late ’90s:

    * n Mack Fowler: Murdered July, 8, 1996

      n George Wilbanks: Murdered November, 2, 1997

      n Robert Hannah: Murdered October 13, 1998

      n Betty Everett: Murdered November 17, 1998

      n Louise Randall: Murdered October 20, 1998

And Columbus’ unsolved murders are just a few of the cases local law enforcement agencies hope to solve with a regional crime scene investigation and cold case unit.

The agencies are hoping to pool their resources and form the Golden Triangle Task Force, charged with solving cold cases and high-profile crimes. And step one is applying for a $430,000 grant to fund the project.

Representatives from Golden Triangle sheriff’s and police departments met Thursday at the Columbus Police Department to iron out details of the grant application.
“I think it’s two-fold,” Columbus Police Chief Joseph St. John said of the task force’s mission, one of which is to reopen active investigation into cold cases.

Its other portion of its mission is “so that when we have a major crime occur in the area, we can have an (immediate and intense) crime scene response,” St. John said.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is taking the lead in applying for the Justice Assistance Grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Most of the $399,000 grant would go toward salaries and benefits of the staff, CCSO Investigator Bobby Grimes said.

One of task force members will be an attorney in District Attorney Forrest Allgood’s office. The remainder of the grant funds will be applied toward equipment such as laptops, computers, digital cameras and recorders.

Each law enforcement agency also is asked to provide an investigator for intense training to serve on the task force. Another officer from each agency will train for one week out of the month for a year on crime scene investigation with CPD Forensic Director Austin Shepherd.

Shepherd’s goal is International Association for Identification certification for the officers. IAI is the oldest and largest forensic science association.

To gain IAI certification, investigators must work a mock crime scene and answer a 500-question test prepared by the FBI.

Grimes encourages fellow lawmen to consider those with experience and knack for the task force.

“It’s not set up to be an overall investigative unit,” he said. “It’s meant to be focused on specific crimes. ... They are going to be major crimes and old cases ...”

Grimes also is asking each Golden Triangle law enforcement agency to contribute $25,000 a year to the program, which will fund the task force once the two-year term of the grant ends.

Sheriffs and police chiefs were asked to present the proposal to their respective city and county leaders for approval. The law enforcement heads will meet again on April 15 to give final approval to an interlocal agreement.
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Article Comment Buddie | 4/9/2010 5:15:00 PM   mark as inappropriate
Will they put up signs for Kaila Morris?

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=5803
Triplett's probation revoked; child porn trial set for June
April 17, 2010

 The probation of Robert Warren Triplett Jr., a Lowndes County man who faces child pornography charges, was revoked April 8.

He was sentenced to serve 10 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Triplett, 56, of 181 Golding Road, earlier pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of activities regarding materials constituting or containing child pornography.

He was arrested in October when investigators found explicit photos of minor children on a computer obtained from his home during an investigation into the disappearance of his stepdaughter, Kaila Morris, 21.

Triplett, who had past arrests for sex crimes in Mississippi and Louisiana, was on non-adjudicated probation from 2003 charges of attempted sexual battery in Jackson County.

The Jackson County Circuit Clerk’s Office Friday confirmed the probation revocation order and Triplett’s sentence.
Triplett’s trial on the child pornography charges is scheduled to start June 28 in Oxford before Chief Justice Mike Mills.

Morris, who owned a residence in Starkville and worked part-time at the Cookie Store in Leigh Mall, has been missing since Sept. 17.

She was last seen by Triplett, who said she left the home he shared with Morris’ mother, Bonnie Morris Triplett, in a dark-colored van or sport utility vehicle, with an unknown person or people.

Morris’ mother was vacationing in Florida at the time.

Anyone with information on Kaila Morris’ whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-530-7151, 911 or the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office at 662-328-6788.
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Article Comment Keepus Informed | 4/18/2010 10:33:00 AM   mark as inappropriate
Where is Triplett being held right now? Help us keep our daughters safe.
The June 28 hearing sounds like Federal Court. What about charges from the State of Mississippi?
The evidence is proved. Triplett should plead guilty to the child porn charges and save his family from the continued shame of the public hearing.
Triplett should tell where Kaila Morris is. Mississippi should charge Triplett with murder.
Keep us informed.

Article Comment Finding Kaila | 4/19/2010 8:33:00 AM   mark as inappropriate
Are they still searching for Kaila?

Article Comment Buddie | 4/19/2010 1:32:00 PM   mark as inappropriate
Will Bonnie Williamson Morris Triplett be charged with anything? She moved the scumbag Robert Triplett to our town. She supported the lazy bum so he could collect child porn in her house.

Article Comment j | 4/19/2010 2:30:00 PM   mark as inappropriate
only god could judge people is time will come if he is guilty...

Article Comment amy | 4/22/2010 10:14:00 AM   mark as inappropriate
My coworker actually goes out there and helps do a search for her, they are still looking... Her stepdad had something to do with it, we all just dont know what he actually did to her, If he reallty stays in jail long enough, trust people talk and like to brag so, the truth will come out soon. GUILTY!!!!

[PookyBear]

More info on this case...  http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=7063

In questioning by the FBI, Triplett admitted to "inappropriately touching" Morris, Rickert testified, noting Triplett said he had "massaged her," while she was topless, and "pulled her sleeping shorts down, exposing the tops of her buttocks" to "massage her upper thighs."

Cheatham said Triplett told investigators his wife was present at some of the massages, but she was absent during others.

Additionally, he said Triplett told investigators he would "turn away" when Morris removed her shirt, although he admitted to kissing her "on the lips" at least twice.

When, the second time he kissed her, "it appeared she did not like it," Triplett said he stopped and did not repeat the action again, Cheatham testified.

[PookyBear]

Snipped from article -- http://www.cdispatch.com/opinions/article.asp?aid=7159

As the story unraveled, each layer was more damaging than the preceding:

    * Triplett was the last person to see Kaila alive.

    * A dirty shovel and ax were found at the Triplett home on Golding Road in Lowndes County, and freshly washed sheets -- Robert Triplett said he washed the sheets at Kaila's request -- were retrieved from Kaila's bed.

    * Triplett noted to investigators an area in Pickens County on the way to Kaila's friend, LaBriska Walker's, house where a body could be dumped, if someone had done something to his stepdaughter.

    * Triplett spent hours, "stuck in the mud," on a four-wheeler in Pickens County the day Kaila disappeared, checking on land owned by Kaila's family.

    * The last time Kaila used her cell phone was more than 24 hours before Triplett reported she left in a dark-colored vehicle.

    * Triplett admitted to administering a massage to Kaila the night she disappeared. She took off her shirt, as she usually did, for him to massage her shoulders. He also massaged her upper thighs.

[cartfly]

Kaila's facebook, not much to see other than photos she posted

https://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=26518734

[cartfly]

Lowndes man pleads out on federal child porn charges

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=7612

 ::snipping2::
Kristin Mamrack (contact)
August 29, 2010 2:52:00 AM

COLUMBUS -- In federal court Friday, a Lowndes County man pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

Robert Warren Triplett Jr., 57, of 181 Golding Road was arrested in October on charges of activities regarding materials constituting or containing child pornography.

Triplett, whose trial on state charges of child pornography this week was continued in Lowndes County Circuit Court, pleaded guilty on the federal charges this morning before Chief Justice Michael Mills.

According to the plea agreement, Triplett pleaded guilty to count one of the federal indictment, which charged "possession of a computer containing images of child pornography that had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce by means of computers and that were produced using materials that had been mailed, shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce."

In exchange for the guilty plea, Triplett will not be charged with "any other federal offenses arising from or related to the possession of child pornography charge," according to the plea agreement.

 ::snipping2::