Sheriff's Office IDs victim in cemetery
By Laura Collins
Published in News on December 20, 2009 1:50 AM
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Submitted photo
This photo released by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, shows the white van that Jamie Lee Hinson was last see in arriving at the Doll Palace in Selma.
Full Size
Submitted photo
This photo released by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office shows Jamie Lee Hinson, the smaller man, and a person of interest in his death arriving at the Doll Palace in Selma on the night he died.
The body found in Evergreen Cemetery Dec. 3 has been identified as 35-year-old Jamie Lee Hinson of Princeton.
Hinson was found beaten to death around 8:45 that morning.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office believes he was last seen around 2 a.m. at the Doll Palace, a gentleman's club in Selma.
According to Detective Richard Winders, there are no suspects in the case, but officials are working to identify a "person of interest," the last person they believe was with Hinson at the Doll Palace.
"This is a horrific crime and we are requesting assistance from the public to help us solve it," Sheriff Carey Winders said.
The Sheriff's Office has released photos detectives found during the investigation. The photos show two men, believed to be Hinson and the person of interest, in a parking lot. They arrived and left in a white van.
In a separate press release, the family is accepting donations to help with funeral costs. The release said that Hinson's father woke the morning of Dec. 3 and realized Hinson had not made it home the night before, which was "not normal" for him. After hearing a body had been found at the cemetery within a mile from their home, the family identified the body as Hinson.
Officials did not immediately identify the body, waiting for official confirmation from testing to be sure that the deceased was Hinson.
Those results came back Friday.
The Sheriff's Office is offering a $2,000 reward to anyone who provides information that will lead to the arrest of the person or persons responsible.
Sgt. Richard Winders and Sgt. Larry Mitchell are working the case and can be reached at 919-731-1484 or 919-731-1541. Callers may also contact Wayne County Crimestoppers at 919-735-2255.