Greenwood, MS – District Attorney W. Dewayne Richardson announced today that on August 18, 2025, Lavorris Gilbert pled guilty in front of Leflore County Circuit Court Senior Judge Ashley Hines to the January 2024 murder of his longtime girlfriend Jessica McClain.
The April 2024 Leflore County Grand Jury indicted Gilbert for First Degree Murder with a Firearm enhancement for McClain’s death. With a jury trial pending, Gilbert chose to plead guilty to the lesser-included offense of Second-Degree Murder. Under Mississippi law, Second Degree Murder carries a minimum sentence of twenty (20) years and a maximum of forty (40) years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Upon entry of Gilbert’s plea, Judge Hines sentenced Gilbert to the District Attorney Office’s recommendation of forty years to be served as thirty (30) years to serve in the Mississippi Department of Corrections with the remaining ten (10) years to be suspended upon completion of five (5) years supervised probation for the Second-Degree Murder charge.
The case against Gilbert was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Amanda Sturniolo Langford. Langford is grateful for the Greenwood Police Department’s rapid response to the 911 call and immediate apprehension of Gilbert. Their quick work and response led to the subsequent discovery of the murder weapon. While there is no amount of time that can bring Jessica back to her mother and children, we hope that her family can have some sense of relief and closure with Gilbert’s conviction and sentence.
The District Attorney’s office takes all gun and domestic violence cases seriously and hopes that the citizens of Leflore County will continue to report crimes and be willing to testify at trials so that justice can be sought and help make our community safe again.