Daniels parents accuse Simms in daughters' murder, disappearance

Pittsburgh man fingered as prime suspect in family's private investigation

Bart & Bonnie Daniels (front row)
Reggie Simms (back row)

Oxford couple Bart and Bonnie Daniels announced yesterday that, as a result of the arrest of Forrest Burgess, they have lost confidence in the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department's ability to apprehend their daughter's killer.

Laurie Daniels' head was found in a bucket near Taylor Creek on February 22 of this year, and several earlier discoveries of body parts in surrounding counties have since confirmed that Daniels may have been murdered as much as a month prior to the discovery of her head.

The Daniels say they do not believe there's any possibility that Laurie's former fiancé could have harmed her, and so they have hired a team of private investigators to bring the murderer of their daughter Laurie to justice and to solve the mystery of the disappearance of their younger daughter, Melanie.

The family names a suspect

According to a statement released by the Danielses' attorney Geoffrey Frye, the prime suspect in this private investigation is Reginald "Reggie" Simms, a 30-year-old Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, man who Yoknapatawpha County investigators recently interviewed in connection with Laurie Daniels' murder.

"The local police have made a commendable effort in tracking down Mr. Simms and obtaining a statement from him," Frye told Crime Beat in an exclusive interview. "However, they let him get away. The Danielses believe—and I think they have struck a valid point—that Simms knows more than he's telling about the disappearance of their daughter Melanie and what happened to Laurie."

According to the statement released by Frye and the Danielses, then-17-year-old Melanie Daniels left Oxford in 2012 to be with Simms after he impregnated her. It is their suspicion that Simms, when confronted with the fruit of his actions, may have reacted with violence and then covered up by fleeing the country and going to war.

YCSD spoke to Simms

Simms reportedly told Yoknapatawpha detectives that he had never engaged in sexual activity with Melanie Daniels and that she never came to his home in Pittsburgh.

A source inside the Sheriff's Department, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said Simms also alleged there may have been an inappropriate relationship between Mr. Daniels and one or both of his daughters.

"The desperation and convoluted facts in that man's testimony have angered the family, and they have drawn attention to his motives in this case. We believe the Yoknapatawpha County detectives did not conduct a thorough interview, so there's much more to be determined here," said Frye.

"The man presented himself as a sexual predator, and that's reason enough to investigate further," Frye added.

PIs examine Simms's connection to Daniels sisters

The Danielses' statement indicates that a team of private investigators hired by the family are currently exploring Simms's past, including an unaccounted for period of time after his military service in Afghanistan.

Sources close to the family's private investigation hint they may have evidence that also connects Simms to the recent death of Laurie Daniels, who reportedly approached Simms while searching for her sister earlier this year. According to Simms, Laurie Daniels stayed with him for several weeks in his Pittsburgh apartment before she returned home at the end of March this year.

"It was no accident that Laurie approached Reggie Simms," Frye said. "Perhaps she found the crucial piece of evidence that linked him to her sister, and perhaps she discovered some incriminating evidence against him that led him to murder her. As I've said though, this matter is still under investigation."

According to the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department, no evidence collected thus far suggests that Simms was Laurie Daniels' killer.

"Our investigation is taking a distinctly different turn," said Sheriff's Public Information Officer Elizabeth Jones. "We're confident that we'll get to the bottom of this heinous crime in the very near future—with or without the cooperation of Bart and Bonnie Daniels."

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Ex-fiancé held in connection with dismemberment homicide

Currently facing charges including kidnapping and attempted murder

Photo provided by YCSD

As the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department continues its investigation into the murder and dismemberment of former Oxford resident Laurie Daniels, 25-year-old Forrest Burgess was arrested this afternoon on charges related to the murder of his former fiancé.

Sheriff's Public Information Officer Elizabeth Jones would not comment on what led to Burgess' arrest, but did confirm that the Oxonian is being held on kidnapping, false imprisonment and attempted murder charges.

Jones said Burgess has not been charged with the murder of Laurie Daniels, but emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed.

Burgess and Daniels became engaged in 2012, but Daniels abruptly left Oxford in early 2013, canceling the wedding the couple had planned for later that year.

Burgess' roommate, Paul Mercury, said, "Forrest is still totally in love with Laurie, even after all these years. He would never deliberately do anything to hurt her, and there's no way he would kill her. No way."

Calls to Burgess' parents' home in Oxford were not returned.

The gruesome end of Laurie Daniels

In December 2019, Daniels made her first trip back to Oxford since her departure seven years ago.

It's still unclear where she went and who she talked with upon her return, but her body parts started turning up in surrounding counties within days of her arrival, culminating in the discovery of her severed head in Taylor on February 22, 2020.

With some portions of Laurie Daniels' remains still missing, the cause of her death has not been determined.

Surviving Daniels family members distraught

Last week, the victim's parents, Bart and Bonnie Daniels of Oxford, announced they would no longer cooperate with the sheriff's department's investigation into their daughter's murder.

They alleged that the Department was disrespectful of them as well as their friends and neighbors in their inquiries.

The Danielses claimed that YCSD detectives have been "digging up vicious rumors and hearsay regarding our daughters' and our own personal life" instead of conducting "a serious investigation into the death of our daughter."

Jones declined to say whether the parents' comments had any impact on the decision to arrest Burgess.

The Danielses' younger daughter, Melanie, disappeared from Oxford in 2012. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

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Victim's parents refuse to cooperate in murder investigation

Cite disrespectful treatment and slander

Laurie Daniels

The parents of Laurie Daniels have declined to give further aid to the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department in the ongoing investigation into the murder of their daughter Laurie.

According to a statement released today, Bart and Bonnie Daniels will answer no more questions from detectives.

Bonnie Daniels read from a prepared statement at a small press conference outside the family home this morning.

"Because of the disrespectful treatment we and our friends and neighbors have been subjected to during the course of this so-called investigation, we can no longer in good conscience be a part of it.

Laurie Daniels

Killed and dismembered four to six weeks ago Head found in Taylor, MS, on February 22 Other body parts found in surrounding counties over the last month Last seen in Oxford in 2013

"We simply feel that this is not a serious investigation into the death of our daughter. We have opened our home and our privacy to the detectives, and they return these gestures with slander.

"Instead of catching the murderer, the sheriff's department is digging up vicious rumors and hearsay regarding our daughters' and our own personal life. It's an insult to our daughter and to justice itself, and we will not cooperate any longer.

"We would rather go on in the dark about our daughter's killer or killers than face the daily barrage of insults and accusatory remarks made by the police and the public. Any further correspondence will be done through our attorneys."

Bart Daniels was an attorney himself until a cancer diagnosis forced him to retire. The family has hired the firm of Frye & Pierson to represent them.

Heard it through the grapevine

Both the Daniels family and the sheriff's department declined to comment on the details of the "vicious rumors and hearsay" Mrs. Daniels referred to in her statement.

Witnesses familiar with the location where the head was found say a strange ritual site was discovered nearby. That evidence reportedly has investigators seeking information as far away as the New Orleans voodoo district, where it's believed Laurie Daniels lived for several years.

Sources close to the investigation say that just prior to her death, Laurie Daniels is thought to have been in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Friends claim she had gone there in hopes of reuniting with her younger sister, Melanie, who walked away from her family and her life in Oxford in 2012.

YCSD "disappointed" by the family's decision

The Daniels parents have not been named as official suspects, according to Sheriff's Public Information Officer Elizabeth Jones, who added that investigators are disappointed by the family's decision to withdraw their assistance.

In a statement, Jones responded to the Danielses' remarks. "It is in the best interest of Mr. and Mrs. Daniels to continue their participation in this investigation. Their goals and the goals of the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department are one and the same—to bring Laurie Daniels's killer to justice."

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Daniels burial draws emotional crowd

Bishop Hill chapel (File Photo)

A dark cloud of anguish and bewilderment still hovered over the town here as Laurie Daniels was put to rest in Bishop Hill Cemetery this afternoon.

Friends, relatives and other saddened townsfolk turned out en masse to offer their grief over the former Oxonian's horrifying death.

Nearly 300 mourners arrived at Bishop Hill's tiny chapel for the funeral. The crowd spilled into the parking lot, and those who could not find a seat inside waited until the service moved outside to the grave site.

Reverend Jonathan Everett gave a poignant service, and Daniels' former fiancé, Forrest Burgess, delivered a moving eulogy.

A gruesome death

Daniels, 25, was the victim of a brutal killing that has terrified the town. The Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department discovered her head in a bucket near Taylor Creek on February 22.

Throughout April, several other body parts, later identified as Daniels', were found as far away as Toccopola, Bruce and Batesville.

An investigation into Daniels' death is currently underway, and the sheriff's department maintained a visible presence at the memorial services, though whether it was to provide security or keep an eye out for possible suspects is unclear.

Remembering Laurie

A former prom queen and local teenage favorite, Daniels had been away from Oxford for seven years in various parts of the country before her ill-fated return.

Friends and family who tried to catch up with her over the years were met with disheartening news. Some heard she had abused drugs and alcohol, while others had reason to believe she was involved in bizarre religious sects.

Yet these rumors did not deter the people who loved and remembered her fondly from paying their final respects.

"We are all shattered and sore to the pit of our souls over the violence of Laurie's departure," said Burgess in his rousing address. "We yearn to know what drove her away from us and what led her to her end. Yet also we are afraid to seek answers to these questions."

A life cut short

Daniels was born on February 22, 1994. She grew up with her family in Oxford and graduated from Oxford High School in 2012. She then briefly attended Northwest Community College before leaving town in January of 2013 on a journey that reportedly led her all over the country.

She is survived by her parents, Bart and Bonnie Daniels of Oxford, and a sister, Melanie, 24, who also left town suddenly several years ago.

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More body parts found

Locations in and around Yoknapatawpha County
where dismembered body parts were found

Are they related to head found in Taylor?

Following on the (ahem) heels of the discovery of a severed head in Taylor on February 22, the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department confirmed today that four more body parts have been discovered in adjoining counties.

Sheriff's Public Information Officer Elizabeth Jones said the body parts were found over the last several weeks.

On January 30, a severed arm was found in a gravel pit in Toccopola in Pontotoc County, east of Oxford.

Twelve days later and 45 miles west, another arm was discovered in Enid Lake between Batesville and Water Valley in Panola County.

Two feet were found 24 miles south-southwest of the Toccopola location and 55 miles southeast of the Batesville location in a Bruce cotton field in Calhoun County.

The feet were found on February 18, just four days before the severed head was discovered near a possible ritual site in Taylor.

Locals shocked

Trevor Gibson, who found the arm in Enid Lake while on his lunch break, was understandably disturbed after making the discovery.

"At first, I thought it was a big snake," the 52-year-old described. "It wasn't moving, so I thought it was dead. I went up to it, and then it was pretty clear that it wasn't no snake. I said to myself, 'Why, that's some fella's arm there.'"

While the YCSD has not publicly confirmed the gender of the head found in Taylor, Jones said the other body parts are believed to be from one or more females.

Jones said that DNA tests are being conducted to determine whether a link exists between any of the body parts.

Serial killer?

While some people have wondered whether these gruesome discoveries are indications that a serial killer is at work in North Mississippi, law enforcement officials across all the involved jurisdictions discount the suggestion.

"If you ask me, this is the work of one sick individual," said Pontotoc County sheriff J. A. Drexel. "Serial killers are for movies and television. We don't have that kind of thing around here."

Sheriff Drexel said no evidence of occult activity was found at the Toccopola scene nor, to his knowledge, at the scenes in Panola and Calhoun counties.

If Sheriff Drexel is correct, what does that say about the rumored evidence of voodoo rituals found in Taylor?

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Severed head found in Taylor

Evidence at the scene points to occult influences?

Crime scene location south of Oxford

When local farmer Tucker Allison contacted the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department to report vandalism on his Taylor property, he never imagined what that might lead to.

According to Allison, his 11-year-old son and a friend were playing Saturday morning when they stumbled upon what Allison described as a strange ritual site in a clearing beside a creek.

"There's kids that come out here cow-tipping from time to time. Sometimes they spray-paint something, but I've never seen anything like this around here," Allison told Crime Beat. "I knew as soon as I seen it something wasn't right about it, and I called 911 right off."

Responding to the father's 911 call, sheriff's officers investigated the reported vandalism and discovered a secondary scene where reportedly they found a bucket containing a human head floating in an unidentified chemical solution.

The vandalism scene, which was the subject of the initial report, offered its own unusual evidence, including the remains of a campfire, a burned wooden box, empty rum bottles and a dead chicken among other evidence.

Whitehead told said he told police that the chicken most likely came from his coop. "I recall missing a chicken several weeks back, but I thought it was coyotes," the Taylor farmer said. "In a situation like that, you never consider that a crime is involved."

Similar incidents nearby?

The finding of the head comes amid burgeoning rumors that other body parts have been found this month in the neighboring counties of Calhoun and Panola.

"I think the cops just don't want everybody to get keyed up over this so they're not talking," said Tim Hillman, a Batesville resident. "But there comes a time when we need to know whether or not we should keep our kids locked up in the house."

PIO Jones would not comment on the alleged discoveries of other body parts, saying only, "the department has mounted an intense investigation into this matter and will release more information as it becomes available. We must balance the public's need to know with the department's need to solve this case."

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