COLUMBUS, Miss. (WTVA) – A man has been charged with murder after his girlfriend’s body was found in the yard of an abandoned home in Columbus, Mississippi.

Around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the body of 25-year-old Ashanti Jade Turner was found in the yard of the home located on Industrial Street.

On Wednesday, Damian Peterson was accused of murdering Turner. He was initially named as a potential suspect.

Peterson surrendered at noon on Wednesday on unrelated assault charges.

The investigation ultimately led to police charging him with murder.

Authorities have yet to announce an official cause of death for Turner.

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The 2024 NFL Draft begins tonight with the next wave of college stars having their pro dreams made reality. And Mississippi State football has a few players that are likely to hear their names called over the next few days.

Where do draft experts project those Bulldogs to land? Let’s take a look at the latest mock drafts and positional rankings.

For our purposes, we’ll use ESPN’s positional rankings and the latest seven-round mock drafts from ESPN and The Athletic.

Most outlets see Decamerion Richardson as the best prospect out of Mississippi State this season. His combination of size and speed has teams intrigued with his potential at corner. Still, his lack of production in college has him projected as a mid-round player.

ESPN ranks Richardson as the 16th best CB in the draft and the 123rd best player overall. Their latest mock draft has him going in the 4th Round to Cincinnati with the 115th pick. The Athletic has Richardson being taken in the 5th Round to the Broncos with the 136th pick.

Jaden Crumedy hopes to further Mississippi State’s case as “D-Line U”. The big run-stopper can play both inside and outside along the defensive line. He’s likely to be a late-round selection in the draft.

ESPN rates him as the 20th best defensive tackle and 204th best prospect overall. Interestingly, their latest mock doesn’t have him being taken, but that’s an outlier compared to most mock drafts. The Athletic has him going in the 6th Round to New England with the 180th overall pick.

Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson is a Mississippi State legend. He was a three-year starter for State who finished his career as one of the most productive linebackers in SEC history. Now he’s hoping to make it in the NFL.

While most outlets view Decamerion Richardson as MSU’s best prospect, ESPN actually rates Watson slightly higher. They have his as the 9th best LB and the 121st best prospect. But like Jaden Crumedy, ESPN’s latest seven-round mock draft doesn’t have him being selected. Keep in mind that’s the work of one analyst who, clearly, is lower on Watson than his peers.

ESPN’s lead draft analyst loves him though. Mel Kiper named Bookie his favorite off-ball LB in the draft and believes he will go in the mid-rounds. The Athletic sees him going in the 6th round to Houston, 188th overall.

Tulu Griffin is the last Bulldog with a realistic shot at being drafted. He’s an explosive play-maker that can be deadly in open space off of screens and reverses, and as Mississippi State fans know, he’s an elite kick returner. Griffin has a shot to make it at the next level as a special teams star and occasional gadget player on offense.

ESPN rates him as the 34th best WR prospect and 274th overall. As you can imagine, he’s not currently projected to be drafted in ESPN’s latest mock. But the Athletic does have him being selected. They have him going in the 7th Round to Green Bay with the 245th pick.

(AP) – A woman who sued Mississippi’s capital city over the death of her brother has decided to reject a settlement after officials publicly disclosed how much the city would pay his survivors, her attorney said Wednesday.

George Robinson, 62, died in January 2019, days after three Jackson police officers pulled him from a car while searching for a murder suspect.

The Jackson City Council on Tuesday approved the payment of $17,786 to settle the lawsuit that relatives of Robinson filed in state court in October 2019, WLBT-TV reported. City documents said the settlement was not an admission of liability by the city or the three officers named in the lawsuit. Robinson was Black, as are the three officers.

The payment to the relatives — including Robinson’s sister, Bettersten Wade — was approved on a unanimous vote. Wade’s attorney, Dennis Sweet III, released a letter Wednesday saying that the city of Jackson violated a confidentiality agreement that was part of the settlement. Sweet said that because of the public disclosure and because the city “appears to claim or infer some sort of perceived victory,” Wade intends to continue suing the city.

Sweet said Robinson’s family reached a separate “substantial settlement” with an ambulance company.

Councilman Kenneth Stokes said he thought the city settlement was too small, although he voted for it.

“I’m saying it just sends the wrong message about human life, especially Black people’s lives,” Stokes said. “I think a step in the right direction would’ve been to pay the family a little bit more.”

The lawsuit alleged that the three officers “brutally, viciously and mercilessly beat Mr. Robinson by striking and kicking him.”

“Mr. Robinson had not committed any crime, was not the subject of any active warrant, and was not a threat to himself or any person in the area,” the lawsuit said.

Robinson had been hospitalized for a stroke days before the police encounter and was on medication, Wade has said. He had a seizure hours after he was beaten, and he died two days later from bleeding on his brain.

Second-degree murder charges against two of the officers were dropped in the case. In August 2022, a Hinds County jury convicted former detective Anthony Fox of culpable negligence manslaughter — and then in January of this year, the Mississippi Court of Appeals overturned Fox’s conviction. A majority of the appeals court wrote that prosecutors failed to prove Fox “acted in a grossly negligent manner” or that Robinson’s death “was reasonably foreseeable under the circumstances.”

Wade is the mother of Dexter Wade, who was run over by an off-duty Jackson Police Department officer in March 2023.

Dexter Wade was buried at the Hinds County Pauper’s Cemetery. But it was October before his mother was told about the burial.

His body was exhumed Nov. 13, and an independent autopsy was conducted. A wallet found in the pocket of his jeans contained his state identification card with his home address, credit card and a health insurance card, said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Wade’s family.

On Nov. 20, Dexter Wade’s family held a funeral for him, and he was buried in another cemetery.

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