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Man charged with murder in death of missing pregnant woman in Mississippi

Posted at 8:07 PM, Jul 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-02 22:17:06-04

A man suspected of killing a pregnant woman reported missing in Mississippi last week has been arrested, the Holmes County sheriff’s office said.

Terrence Kendale Sample was arrested Monday and charged with murder, kidnapping, and capital murder in the death of 21-year-old Makayla Winston, who was about nine months pregnant, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Sample is being held at the Holmes County Jail. CNN has reached out to Sample’s public defender.

Rufus Sample, the suspect’s father, declined to comment.

Holmes County Sheriff Willie March did not confirm whether Sample had any connection with the victim.

Sample’s arrest comes a day after authorities found Winston’s body on a dirt road south of Lexington, Mississippi.

Winston was last seen on Thursday leaving her home in Goodman, north of Jackson, Holmes County Sheriff Willie March said.

Her mother, Yvetty Brown, told CNN affiliate WLBT her daughter was “heading to show the sonogram to the baby’s father” that night.

Winston had been due to give birth on July 4th.

Her car was found with the keys still in the ignition Friday at the intersection of Highway 14 and Interstate 55 in Holmes County, March told WLBT.

Winston’s body is set to be taken to the state crime lab in Jackson to determine the cause of death, according to March.