Sardis man shot, killed while sleeping

SARDIS, Miss. (WMC) - The Panola County Sheriff’s Department is searching for the person responsible for shooting and killing a man while he was sleeping in his bed.

Deputies say Ricky Talley was found dead Friday morning.

The way he was killed is chilling and has left neighbors in the area on edge.

“I pulled up in my car and I looked and seen all that tape around there,” said Dewit Cole, neighbor.

The police tape is still up around Talley’s mailbox.

Further down the driveway, police tape also wraps around the home where he was found shot to death.

The Panola County Sheriff’s Department says he was shot in the back of the head, possibly while he was sleeping.

Dewit Cole and his family have lived on Springport Road in Sardis for decades.

It’s one of the quietest country roads you’ll find.

“This is something that doesn’t happen in this neighborhood. It’s a good neighborhood and everything,” said Cole.

Cole’s family was surprised to see the crime scene tape and hear about the murder that the sheriff’s department is still investigating.

They know the Talley family, but Ricky mostly kept to himself and wasn’t very social.

“He’s mostly quiet and he mostly like protecting their property up there. And stuff like that. He liked to protect his property and I talked to him only one or two times,” said Cole.

Now neighbors are on the lookout, as a quiet country neighborhood has turned into the scene of an ongoing investigation.

Cole is hoping police catch the killer soon.

The Panola County Sheriff’s Department says they are continuing to conduct interviews but no one has been arrested in connection to Talley’s murder.

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