Elderly woman shot son, hid his body behind fake wall in her house

GULFPORT, Miss. (TCN) -- A 69-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to the 2023 murder of her son and has been sentenced to life in prison.

The investigation began in December 2023, when 42-year-old John Gaither’s brother called the authorities because he had not heard from him in several days, WLOX reports. Gaither’s mother, Jerri Roby, was questioned as part of the missing person investigation and she alleged Gaither had taken an Uber out of state to buy a new car.

Around the same time, Gaither’s stepmother got a letter in the mail, purportedly from Gaither, stating he had gone to meet a woman in the Philippines. She also contacted authorities.

Authorities reviewing Gaither’s Uber account did not find any recent activity, per WLOX. Their investigation revealed Roby had been convicted in 1995 in connection with a death in Florida and had also lived under multiple aliases. 

In 1993, Roby was going by the name Jerri Lynn Israel and lived in Florida, the Sun Herald reports. She shot a woman in the back of the head, kept the body in her car for several days, and served time for manslaughter in connection with the death. She was later released and moved to Gulfport, Mississippi, with Gaither.

She gave authorities permission to search her property, and they found a Home Depot receipt from the week before Gaither was reported missing. The receipt showed purchases of multiple bags of sand, straw, roll and seal tape, and a dumpster bag.

According to WLOX, more relatives received correspondence purportedly from Gaither in early 2024, but they did not believe it was from him. A search warrant was executed at Roby’s house and police found a fake wall with a wooden box behind it containing Gaither’s body. An autopsy revealed he had been fatally shot in the back of the head.

Roby took prescription pills when police attempted to apprehend her and she was taken to the hospital. She was interviewed after her release, according to WLOX. She said she shot Gaither to “put him out of his misery” because he suffered from depression.

According to Assistant District Attorney Matthew D. Burrell, “During her interview, Roby admitted that she had forged the letters that were sent to family members that were purportedly from Gaither, sent the text messages to family acting as if she was Gaither, convinced her boyfriend to call family members acting as if he was Gaither, and took Gaither’s cellphone to Florida to call family members so the phone would utilize cellular phone towers there,” WLOX reports.

“However, Roby told Investigators that Gaither shot himself in the back of the head, fell into the box, where she then covered him with the sand, dirt, and straw she purchased from Home Depot.”

Roby was indicted by a grand jury in May 2025 on charges of first-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to WLOX.

The Sun Herald reports Roby’s boyfriend, 86-year-old Robert Wayne Tannehill, allegedly accompanied her to Home Depot for the purchases later used in connection with concealing Gaither. He was arrested for hindering prosecution, but more charges could be forthcoming. 

Roby pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with Gaither’s death and was sentenced to life in prison on July 22, according to WLOX.

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