Terricha Bradley

The Clarion-Ledger

The bodies of a Hinds County sheriff's deputy, but his wife have been laid to rest and authorities are still waiting on preliminary results from last month's murder-suicide.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said his agency and the Hinds County Sheriff's Office are in touch with the parents of both Chris Smith and Amber Smith's regarding the investigation. The office of Rankin County coroner Jimmy Roberts is also waiting for autopsy results.

"There's nothing new to report," Bailey said. "We are still waiting on the crime lab results to get back and that could take a couple weeks."

On the night of April 23, Rankin County deputies responded to a call from a neighbor who feared something bad had happened at the Smith home on Caledonian Boulevard in the quiet Scottish Hills subdivision. The caller said that the Smiths' two children came to their home and told them the father may have shot the mother.

According to the 911 call obtained by The Clarion-Ledger in a public records request, the caller said one of the daughters told the neighbor that she heard their parents arguing. The daughter said her parents went into the master bedroom and locked the door and heard two gunshots. The bodies were found in the bedroom with fatal gunshot wounds and Bailey said that a handgun was recovered at the scene.

A Rankin County youth court judge placed the children, Makinzi Williams, 9, and Breckyn Smith, 4, with their grandmother. The families of Chris and Amber Smith held separate funerals on Monday and a Paypal fund was set up for their daughters at makinzi.breckyn@gmail.com.

Chris Smith, 34, joined the Hinds County Sheriff's Office in February 2004 and was part of a special operations unit in narcotics. Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis called Smith an astute and diligent officer who loved his job.

Amber Smith, 27, was a stay-at-home mom and an active member of Pinelake Baptist Church, Junior Auxiliary and other charitable organizations.

Rankin County District Attorney Michael Guest previously said no evidence suggested a third party involvement and the case will be presented to the grand jury after the investigation ends.

Contact Terricha Bradley-Phillips at (601) 961-7067 or tbradley@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @Terricha_CL on Twitter.