Three individuals have been apprehended, suspected in the murder case of Kirby Carpenter in Tippah County, a year following the discovery of his body. The arrests occurred in both Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The Smyth County Sheriff's Office in Virginia reported that on November 30, 2023, deputies, part of the U. S. Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, collaborated to arrest Jeffrey Dean Spence and Karen Elizabeth Spence for the 2022 murder of a man in Mississippi.
The U. S. Marshals Service received a request to locate these individuals, who had active Capital Murder warrants from Tippah County, Mississippi, regarding the killing of Kirby Carpenter. This investigation involved various law enforcement agencies along the East Coast and resulted in their arrest in the Sugar Grove area of Smyth County, VA. Both the Criminal Investigations Division and Patrol Division of the Smyth County Sheriff’s Office provided significant assistance throughout this inquiry.
Jeffrey and Karen are currently detained at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail - Abingdon Facility, awaiting extradition back to Mississippi.
Caitlin Spence, reported to be Carpenter's girlfriend and mother of his child at the time of his murder, was also apprehended in Brookville, Pennsylvania.