Scott County Duo Plead Guilty to Murdering a Man in Rankin County
District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced today that Jeffrey Allen Freeman and Madison Nicole Hardin pled guilty in Rankin County Circuit Court to their involvement in the 2022 stabbing death of Keair Stowers, a 22-year-old resident of Forest, Mississippi. Both Freeman and Hardin are originally from Morton. Freeman, 24, pled guilty to First Degree Murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Hardin, who was 17 at the time of the crime, pled guilty to Second Degree Murder and was sentenced to thirty years in prison.
On April 23, 2022, Keair Stower’s body was found in a shallow ditch near the Rankin-Scott County line. He had been stabbed multiple times. Officers from the Rankin and Scott County Sheriff’s Departments quickly ascertained that the victim’s 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche was missing and in Franklin County. Pursuant to a BOLO, Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies along with a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper stopped the truck which was occupied by both Freeman and Hardin. Inside the Stower’s truck was a rifle, which Freeman later admitted he used to strike the victim. Investigators obtained DNA evidence which linked the defendants to the crime as well as Facebook and other electronic messages which revealed Hardin had befriended Stowers and then lured him to a location with the intent to steal his truck.
District Attorney Bramlett commends the hard work and cooperation of the law enforcement officers of Franklin, Scott, and Rankin Counties, MHP, and the analysts of the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory. “The quick apprehension of both suspects and the thorough investigation resulted in convictions of these defendants in a just over a year. While Keair Stowers was beloved by his family and community, it is my sincere hope that this swift justice has at least provided some comfort for the victim’s family who have endured a tremendous loss in a truly senseless tragedy.”
Defendants:
Name: Jeffery Allen Freeman
Date of Birth: 02/07/1999
Name: Madison Nicole Hardin
Date of Birth: 02/21/2005
