Guilty plea in South Carthage murder case

By Eddie West

Staff Writer

Another guilty plea has been entered in a four year old South Carthage murder case in which five individuals had been indicted.

It was in April of 2019 when 43 year old Jason Taylor Neusse was discovered by his wife beaten to death in a former South Carthage tobacco warehouse located on Hunter Avenue.

In October of the same year, five people were indicted in connection with Neusse’s murder.

Four of the five individuals were indicted for first degree murder during the perpetration of aggravated burglary and aggravated burglary in October of 2019. A fifth individual was indicted for accessory after the fact. 

In the latest development in the case, Tommy Grisham Jr., who was a 38 year old Elmwood resident at the time of the indictment, pled guilty to criminal responsibility for facilitation of first degree murder and received a 30 year sentence, according to Assistant District Attorney Jack Bare.

While the case is in Smith County Criminal Court, the guilty plea was entered during a hearing in Wilson County held on May 19 before Criminal Court Judge Brody Kane.

Grisham, who has been jailed in Wilson County since being indicted, will have to serve 35 percent of the 30 year sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to Assistant District Attorney Bare.

Of the four other suspects charged in the case, three pled guilty in plea agreements with the state and one was found guilty in a jury trial.

One month prior to Grisham’s May plea agreement, in April of this year, Kenneth S. McDonald, who was a 46 year old resident of White House when indicted in the murder case, was found guilty of first degree murder during the perpetration of aggravated burglary and aggravated burglary, during a week long trial held at the Smith County Courts Facility.

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