Terence Sample Bonds Out of Jail

Mississippi man Terence Sample has posted bond in advance of trial for killing 21-year-old McKayla Winston and her unborn child on July 1. Sample was arrested July 1 after they were discovered dead near a deserted road near where Winston went missing days prior and was expected to give birth the next day. Prosecutors allege he became angry upon learning Winston wasn’t going ahead with placing their child for adoption – an allegation which may carry life sentences under Mississippi law.

Police claim he met Winston at a bar to show her a sonogram picture she planned on showing the baby’s father Thursday evening, with plans of leaving together soon afterwards; however, she vanished shortly thereafter; eventually her body was discovered five miles from where it had last been seen and she was approximately nine months pregnant at that point.

Sample will make his court appearance in Yazoo County on August 1, and District Attorney Akille Malone-Oliver wants him kept behind bars until his preliminary hearing. She says she fears for his safety due to the severity of charges against him and because he does not reside nearby; thus she intends to request that the judge include conditions on his bond stipulating electronic monitoring as part of any bond agreements for Sample.

Judge Akille Ford denied Sample’s bond request on Monday, believing he posed an unacceptable risk to himself and others, with insufficient evidence being presented by prosecutors to support his release. She offered him another judge but noted his bond had already been denied in two other cases due to his mother being a justice court judge in neighboring Attala County as well as certain judges having recused themselves prior to hearing his initial appearance.

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