Small Town Murder – "Worse Than Murder: Starkville, Mississippi"
Podcast: Small Town Murder
Hosts: James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman
Episode: "Worse Than Murder – Starkville, Mississippi"
Release Date: February 26, 2026
Overview
In this episode, James and Jimmie head to Starkville, Mississippi, to dissect a layered, disturbing case involving the murder of Joey Fulghum. What begins as a look through the oddities and social quirks of a Southern college town spirals into the tragic tale of Christy Fulghum, her young half-brother Tyler Edmonds, and a twisted plot of manipulation, abuse, family dysfunction, and a wrongful conviction that exposes deep flaws in the justice system. Through a blend of in-depth research and biting comedy, the hosts unravel how one woman's greed, a traumatized 13-year-old, and a series of investigative blunders led to a near-fatal miscarriage of justice.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Introducing Starkville, Mississippi
[05:32 – 14:32]
- Starkville is introduced as a small, humid college town—nicknamed sarcastically 'Stark Vegas'—mainly known for MSU, slim entertainment options, and checkered history.
- History highlights: antebellum days, lynchings, yellow fever quarantine, segregationist violence.
- Hosts riff on the town’s blandness and superstitious rejection of Vegas-like excitement.
- Real estate: lower than national average, but incomes also dismally low.
Memorable quote – James [07:18]:
"Nothing is Vegas unless your town was literally built for vice. Stop calling it that."
2. The Dysfunctional Family at the Center
[23:41 – 36:19]
- Christy Fulghum (née Edmonds): Bounced around with abusive, absent parents, sexually abused by her father at 11, her mother remarried serially to alcoholic abusers.
- Tyler Edmonds: Christy's much-younger half-brother, from similar instability, seen as innocent, helpful, oddly close to Christy.
- Joey Fulghum: Dependable, steady man—Christy marries him at 15 (he’s 17) in a classic too-young, trauma-bonded marriage.
- Christy and Joey have 2 sons, 1 daughter (Haley), with paternity issues: Haley is not Joey’s (revealed by Christy on Montel Williams in a wild talk show stunt).
Quote from Christy’s friend [30:41]:
"She was trashy. Just to be honest with you... pure white trash."
3. Infidelity and Chaos
[36:06 – 54:46]
- Christy habitually cheats; her affairs become a running joke for hosts.
- Notably, she brings Joey on Montel to disclose their daughter isn’t his —“TV is the best place to do that. Not in a fucking Olive Garden or something.” [38:50]
- By 2003, Christy bounces between Joey and boyfriend Kyle Harvey, manipulating both, seeking financial stability but creating chaos.
- Letter to Kyle: Christy complains about being broke, wanting more, and blaming him for not providing—all while unemployed herself.
4. Joey Fulghum’s Murder
[54:46 – 65:34]
- In early May 2003, Christy moves back with Joey, supposedly to reconcile.
- Friday, May 9: Joey cashes a $1,020 paycheck and plans to attend an air show Saturday with brother Shannon. That evening, multiple family members come and go from the house.
- By Saturday, May 10, Joey is dead—shot in the back of the head while asleep.
- His wallet & computer are missing; house is ransacked to look like robbery.
- Security lightbulbs had been unscrewed; Christy’s prints found on them.
- The murder weapon, believed to be a .22 caliber bolt-action rifle, is gone.
- Christy takes her kids and Tyler to the Gulf Coast for a weekend with her boyfriend, spending Joey’s cash the next day.
Quote – James [62:58]:
"As soon as we die, it's all falling apart. We're good for about three hours. Then it's garbage."
5. Investigation and Interrogation Fiasco
[65:34 – 91:17]
- Shannon discovers Joey’s body Sunday, immediately tells police to investigate Christy.
- Christy is brought in:
- First claims innocence, then blames Tyler, claiming an accidental shooting.
- Later changes story to say Joey was abusive and Tyler intentionally killed him to protect Christy.
- Tyler, 13, is interrogated without his mother present, after Christy is allowed to talk to him alone in the room—an unprecedented breach.
- After their private talk (no recording), Tyler confesses to "doing it together" with Christy—with the implication she guided his hand.
- Handwaving police work ignores recantation and ignores the pressure put on the boy during and after.
Memorable moment – James [75:26]:
"Not only do they put them together, they leave the room. No surveillance. No cameras. No audio. Nothing. They leave the room, talk it out, let her talk to him."
6. Railroading a Child
[91:17 – 116:10]
- Christy writes a jailhouse letter to Tyler instructing him to stick to the “accident” story for her sake; it’s intercepted.
- Tyler later recants, saying Christy orchestrated the killing, gave him the gun, and told him to get the car ready—he was outside when she did it.
- Despite recanting, only his confession is admitted at trial, not his retraction.
- Dr. Stephen Hayne, state’s star pathologist, claims he can tell “two sets of hands” pulled the trigger based on bullet trajectory—an absurdity debunked years later.
- Tyler is tried as an adult at 14, convicted, and sentenced to life with parole only at 65. He does several years in America’s worst juvenile prison, Walnut Grove, facing rampant abuse, violence, and sexual assaults.
Quote – Tyler (at sentencing) [117:00]:
"The death penalty would be so much better than sitting here 24 hours a day for the rest of my life."
7. Christy’s Downfall
[136:17 – 150:08]
- Christy is tried later, after failed escape attempts from jail and more manipulation.
- Overwhelming circumstantial and testimonial evidence (her requests for guns, insurance policies, fingerprints, the robbery staging, jailhouse manipulation, and more) lead to a swift capital murder conviction.
- She is sentenced to death by lethal injection (one of only four women on MS death row); later, after a Bible is left in the jury room and for other errors, her sentence is reduced to life without parole plus additional years for escape and contraband.
8. Exoneration, Aftermath, & Systemic Reflection
[151:25 – 179:18]
- Mississippi Supreme Court overturns Tyler’s conviction, calling Hayne’s “two sets of hands” theory unscientific and seating process flawed. New trial is ordered; he is released on bond.
- Facing a manslaughter plea deal that would mean immediate freedom, Tyler insists on his innocence, risks retrial, and is acquitted.
- Despite exoneration, the state resists compensation, then finally pays out $135,000, which Tyler gives to his mother, who lost everything for his defense.
- Tyler moves, opens a tobacco shop, survives leg cancer, goes into embroidery, and advocates for juvenile justice reform, campaigning for mandatory attorney presence during child interrogations.
- Christy remains incarcerated, and Dr. Hayne is discredited, removed from the state’s pathologist list.
Quote – James on Dr. Hayne [172:56]:
"His testimony about two sets of hands was obviously the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard. That’s my opinion. Sorry. My non-scientific opinion is that’s scientifically a load of shit."
Notable Quotes & Moments (w/ Timestamps)
| Timestamp | Quote & Context | |-----------|----------------| | 07:18 | James: “Nothing is Vegas unless your town was literally built for vice. Stop calling it that.” | | 30:41 | Christy’s friend: “She was trashy. Just to be honest with you... pure white trash.” | | 38:50 | James: “TV is the best place to do that. Not in a fucking Olive Garden or something.” (On revealing paternity on Montel) | | 62:58 | James: “As soon as we die, it’s all falling apart. We’re good for about three hours. Then it’s garbage.” | | 75:26 | James: “Not only do they put them together, they leave the room. No surveillance. No cameras. No audio. Nothing. They leave the room, talk it out, let her talk to him.” | | 91:17 | Letter from Christy to Tyler: “If you say what they want you to say, then you committed murder. You will go to jail and so will I...I'm all you have.” | | 117:00 | Tyler at sentencing: “The death penalty would be so much better than sitting here 24 hours a day for the rest of my life.” | | 126:29 | Jimmie: “Sometimes high blood pressure isn’t just diet. It’s just environment and how your body’s responding to...” | | 151:43 | Supreme Court: “We find Dr. Hayne’s conclusion that two persons pulled the trigger simultaneously scientifically unfounded and unreliable.” | | 172:56 | James: “His testimony about two sets of hands was obviously the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard. That’s my opinion. Sorry. My non-scientific opinion is that’s scientifically a load of shit.” |
Important Segment Timestamps
| Segment | Timestamp | |---------|-----------| | Starkville overview, history, and local flavor | 05:32 – 14:32 | | Christy’s background, family dysfunction | 23:41 – 36:19 | | Infidelity, marital chaos, Montel Williams | 36:06 – 54:46 | | Timeline of murder & discovery | 54:46 – 65:34 | | Investigation, polygraph, interrogation of Tyler | 65:34 – 91:17 | | Jailhouse letters, manipulation, recap of events | 91:17 – 116:10 | | Tyler’s faulty trial, Dr. Hayne’s testimony | 116:10 – 151:25 | | Supreme Court overturns, new trial, final outcomes | 151:25 – 179:18 | | Reflections, aftermath, current statuses | 179:18 – End |
Takeaways
- Family dysfunction and childhood trauma can spawn intergenerational chaos, abuse, and tragedy.
- The justice system can be disturbingly eager to railroad a vulnerable child, depriving him of due process and adult protection, especially when adults manipulate, and "expert" testimony is unscientific.
- Christy Fulghum: Manipulative narcissist who viewed marriage, lovers, and family as tools; her greed set off tragedy, but her intelligence was no match for real investigation.
- Tyler Edmonds: A poster child for the dangers of adolescent false confessions and poor legal safeguards. His exoneration is a rare but hard-won instance of justice prevailing, thanks to relentless legal and familial advocacy.
- Systemic Issues: The episode exposes endemic problems—junk science, police misconduct, exploitative prisons, and harsh, retributive attitudes in criminal justice, especially involving juveniles and the South.
Tone & Delivery
The episode mixes dark humor, exasperation, and biting critique of small-town mores and the criminal justice system. The hosts’ comedic riffing punctuates moments of real pathos, especially regarding Tyler’s ordeal, Christy’s calculated manipulation, and the indefensible flaws in state forensic testimony.
Conclusion
"Worse Than Murder – Starkville, Mississippi" is a brutal, complicated story of southern family dysfunction, greedy manipulation, a railroaded child, and an exoneration that took the intervention of the state’s Supreme Court to affirm. James and Jimmie walk the line between comedy and outrage, offering both catharsis and sharp critique of a justice system that came dangerously close to destroying an innocent young life.
For listeners wanting a blend of jaw-dropping true crime, grim laughs, and incisive social commentary—this episode delivers.