The 48 Hours episode “Knock Knock” investigates the Labor Day 1990 double murder of Betty Jones and Kathryn Crigler in Starkville, Mississippi. Correspondent Richard Schlesinger interviews “Knock Knock” podcaster Jason B. Jones (grandson of Betty Jones, who was 10 at the time of the murders) and detective Sgt. Bill Lott who have been working together to solve the cold case.
In 1990 Betty Jones, 65, was visiting her 81-year-old friend Kathryn Crigler, who had her leg amputated and used a wheelchair. When there was a knock on the door, Betty opened it and was stabbed to death. After murdering Betty, the assailant then attacked and raped Crigler. (Crigler died from her injuries and deep depression months later.)
Decades later, Lott was able to use DNA phenotyping to find 51-year-old suspect Michael W. Devaughn (who would have been 23 at the time of attacks). His cigarette butt matched scene evidence and he was a match to a semen-based DNA profile (a rape kit was performed in 1990 and had been sealed since). In October 2018, Devaughn, who was already jailed on a prior drug charge, was charged with capital murder and sexual battery. His bond was set at $11 million.
DeVaughn was from Reinzi, Mississippi, about 100 miles north of Starkville. The Prentiss Country Sheriff Randy Tolar said when they tried to look him up, they couldn’t find a credit history because he used cash. Indeed, authorities couldn’t find a credit history for nearly a decade. Tolar says DeVaughn’s history has an eight to ten-year gap “where he was out of pocket.” 48 Hours airs Saturdays at 9pm and 10pm on CBS. [Watch It Again: Stream any CBS show through Amazon Prime or CBS ALL-ACCESS. Both options offer free trials.]
