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Man Believed To Have Killed Himself After Chilling Facebook Post Confessing To Murder Of Mum And Friend

Man Believed To Have Killed Himself After Chilling Facebook Post Confessing To Murder Of Mum And Friend

'Movies don't do justice to how true terror sounds' - Social media post from Casey Lawhorn, 23, who is believed to have killed himself.

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

A body found in Mississippi is believed to be that of missing Tennessee murder suspect Casey Lawhorn.

The 23-year-old was wanted for killing his mum and friend in a shooting in East Ridge, Tennessee at about 5am on Sunday morning.

Facebook/Casey James Lawhorn

Later that afternoon, Lawhorn took to Facebook and admitted to the double murder, saying he planned to commit suicide.

He wrote in a chilling message: "This morning, at around 01:30, I shot and killed my mother (Vi Lawhorn) and a close friend of mine (Avery Gaines) with a stolen .22 LR.

"I've spent a lot of time thinking about murder, wondering what it feels like. But I've barely felt anything."

The Jasper County, Mississippi sheriff's department made the announcement that a body had been found this morning, saying 'more details to come'.

Facebook/Jasper County Sheriff's Department, Mississippi

The car Lawhorn took on the run was located in Jasper County, Mississippi, but he was not inside.

A man identifying himself as Lawhorn called 911 and confessed to committing the crimes on Sunday, East Ridge Police Assistant Police Chief, Stan Allen, told BuzzFeed News.

The suspect told the dispatcher that he was going to kill himself.

He also directed officers to the general area of where the crimes had taken place, according to Allen.

Police who arrived at the house in Tennessee, found the bodies of Lawhorn's 54-year-old mother, Vi Lawhorn, and his 22-year-old friend Avery Gaines. Both had died from apparent gunshot wounds, Allen said.

Vi Lawhorn and Avery Gaines.
Facebook/Vi Perdue Lawhorn/Avery Gaines

In Casey's Facebook post he explained in detail exactly what happened, writing: "Avery was staying the night to go with me to Epikos Hixson tonight to play MtG like we usually do.

"He fell asleep on my living room floor at around 00:30, the same time I went to pick my mom up from Buds Sports Bar on Brainerd Road.

"My mom was completely wasted, and just like every other time she gets drunk, she goes on and on, without prompt, about how devastated she'd be if I killed myself.

"Once I got her back to our house I went to my room and grabbed the gun.

"I nervously paced for a few minutes, playing the coming events out in my head, which were vastly different from what actually happened

"I walked up to Avery as he slept and shot him in the head once, he seemed to die instantly.

"My mom was in her room, disoriented from alcohol, barely registered that anything happened.

"I attempted to shoot her in her bed right then, but the gun jammed. She didn't notice what I just attempted. I left the room and fixed the jam.

"When I went back into her room, she was out of bed trying to calm down her dog, Oscar.

"I rapidly got off 2 shots, but I missed anything vital since there weren't any lights on in her room.

"I saw 1 entry wound in her left arm, I'm not sure where the other one went.

"She started screaming the worst scream I've ever heard. Movies really don't do justice to how true terror sounds.The gun jammed up again, so I scrambled to get it fixed.

"She shouted "You shot me! You've killed me! Why?" Once I got the jam fixed, I turned on the light so I wouldn't miss again.

"I shot at her twice more and it was over.

Facebook/Casey James Lawhorn

"I went back into the living room to take the heroin and cash Avery had on him. The whole in his forehead was so small, and not a lot of blood had come out of it.

"However, thick, dark blood was pouring from his nose and bile came out of his mouth. I was shaking from adrenaline, but I felt nothing other than that, except maybe disgust at the corpse in front of me and the noises it was making.

"I reached into his pocket to get out his wallet, grabbed what i wanted, and left the house. The whole event took probably 3 or 4 minutes.

"I had hoped both were going to be quick and efficient.

"I didn't want my mom to suffer, to die in horror, to die with the knowledge that her son did it (I didn't hurt our dog or cat, in case anyone was wondering about the animals)."

In the Facebook post, Lawhorn said that he planned to kill himself: "People keep saying that suicide isn't worth it, that it isn't too late, that I should turn myself in instead.

"Well, friends, it is too late.

"Has been for more than 12 hours now, not to mention I've been suicidal since late high school.

"And it's my opinion that I've been heading to unavoidable tragedy since I started at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University).

"I'm not saying the university made me do it, but that the chain of events that I initiated by going there led me here, to inevitable suicide.

"Let's think critically for a minute.

"Ignoring everything about why I hate myself and why I'm suicidal from before midnight this morning, just looking at today's events, how should I be expected to not kill myself?

"Surely any normal person would wish death on themselves after doing what I did, seeing what I saw, and hearing what I heard.

"And all that's waiting on me is life in prison, or maybe the death penalty.

"If I would get the death penalty, then I should definitely kill myself, otherwise I'm just wasting tax dollars on lengthy legal processes.

"Even without being executed, just wasting away in prison sounds awful, and also a horrible use of state money. And who would look forward to life in prison?

"I'm almost 24, that's a crazy amount of time behind bars. And it wound be so lonely.

"I'm sure most of my friends would want to visit me at least once, if for no other reason than to try to understand what I did.

"But after that first year, I can't imagine I'd have any weekly visitors. Not even family, or perhaps especially not family.

"I'm not trying to say people don't care about me, I know a lot of you do, it's just that people in general don't keep up a habit of going to visit a friend in prison.

"Life carries on for everyone else.

"And the sooner this is all over, then the sooner everyone can move on.

"If I'm dead by the time you are reading this, you can heal faster than if I'm still around and in court, and in prison."

The Facebook post concluded: "Don't give me or my family your thoughts and prayers. No one will be hurt by this more than my brother.

"He will probably need a lot of help getting through this, and if you think you are helping him just by talking to the sky, you're f**king wrong.

"If you want to help him in this insanely difficult time I'm putting him through, actually do something, don't just think about it.

"I'm sorry to him more than anyone.

"That said, I don't want or need forgiveness from anyone. What I did is unforgivable.

"And prayer is a waste of time, nothing happens after death, but if there is a hell, I'm going to be in the lake of ice at the bottom.

"Betrayal of family and betrayal of guests are two of the worst sins.

"However, as I sit here in Mississippi, writing this on the side of I-59 south after my car broke down, what I look forward to is the nothingness after death."

Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Casey James Lawhorn

Topics: Death, News, US News, Murder