A man in Tishomingo County has been charged with his wife’s murder after she disappeared in July 2017.
Russell Lanier has been charged for the murder of Susie Rena Lanier after she disappeared from her Iuka home in July 2017. Russell was the one who reported his wife missing, and a search was immediately conducted, but she was never found.
In late August 2017, a man called the Tishomingo County Sheriff’s Office after finding a human skull on his property. Investigators arrived and the skull was sent to the Coroner’s Office. Within a few days, the sheriff’s office received word that the human skull found was positively identified as that of Susie Lanier.
No arrests were made at the time, but the investigation continued.
According to a press release from the TCSO, they recently received new information relating to the case leading to Russell’s arrest on Wednesday.
Sheriff John Daugherty issued the following statement along with the update on the case:
“Sheriff John Daugherty would like to personally thank all the volunteers that helped for several months in the search of Susie. These volunteers were both local citizens and individuals from different parts of the state and out of state. Sheriff Daugherty would also like to thank those businesses that provided water and food to the volunteers during these searches.
Finally, the Tishomingo County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend our deep appreciation to Susie’s family and also our prayers and condolences. The family was a great part of this investigation and a tremendous help. This is a difficult thing for any family to deal with and we ask the public to respect the family, as they go through this emotional process.”
After the skull was found, another search was conducted, but no other remains were found.
