Single gunshot killed Domino's delivery driver Hilereca Dortch, coroner says

Hilereca "Latrice" Dortch, a 31-year-old Domino's Pizza employee, was shot and killed with a single gunshot wound.

Madison County Coroner Alex Breeland confirmed the cause of death Friday afternoon, but declined to answer other questions such as the time of death or suspected location of the shooting.

"That's all I'm going to answer right now," Breeland said.

Dortch, the mother of a 9-year-old son, was last seen leaving the Domino's franchise location in Canton around 2 p.m. on Dec. 13. Her car was found the next day, parked behind an abandoned house and hidden by bushes.

Madison County deputies discovered Dortch's body three days later on Dec. 17 near the intersection of Old Yazoo and Heindl roads, or about 5½ miles from where her car was found. Her body was behind a house at the intersection's corner, Breeland said.

On Dec. 19, the sheriff's department arrested a Canton man, 25-year-old Terrance Jamal Caldwell, in connection with the death. He was expected to be charged in the case, according to a department news release at the time. As of Friday, however, the Madison County jail docket only showed charges against Caldwell related to another case.

He's been charged with armed robbery, attempted capital murder and possession of a firearm by a felon in relation to a robbery and shooting at a Canton convenience store on Dec. 19, the same day he was arrested. Caldwell is accused of shooting store clerk Ranjit Singh in the face.

Singh is expected to survive.

Family members had previously told WLBT-TV that Dortch and Caldwell had worked together in the past at the Domino’s franchise.

"She was a great spirit, and I would ask him why," Everlyn Dortch Brown, Hilereca "Latrice" Dortch's great-aunt, told the station. "What would possess him to do what he did to her? Then leave her body as it was. I mean you would dispose of an animal better than that."

Contact Justin Vicory at 769-572-1418 or jvicory@gannett.com. Follow @justinvicory on Twitter.