A day after police found the body of a Mississippi mayoral candidate, officials have charged a 22-year-old man with the murder of Marco McMillian, who was found dead by the Mississippi River levee.
The suspect, identified as Lawrence Reed, told police that he drove McMillian's car at the time of head-on collision near the Tallahatchie County line Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported that there are little details on how Reed knew McMillian. Reed stayed at Clarksdale apartment complex, but the manager said he did not know who Reed is and that the room was rented by another man who has since moved out.
The 34-year-old McMillian was a one of the four Democrats contesting for the Clarksdale mayor. He caught public attention because he may have been the first openly gay man to be viable candidate for public office in Mississippi, reported the AP.
Although authorities maintain the murder was not politically influenced, the family of McMillian said they believe that there was political motivation behind McMillian's death.
"Maybe some people didn't want him to run. Maybe he was a threat. They wanted Clarksdale to stay the same," a family member told the New York Times on the condition of anonymity. "He was running for mayor because he wanted to move Clarksdale forward."
McMillian had an agenda to fight crime and unemployment in Clarksdale, a city famous as birthplace of blues music. He was a graduate from Jackson State University and attained a master's degree in Philanthropy and Development from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.
