James Touchstone was denied bond Monday afternoon after he was charged with murder and kidnapping from a Saturday afternoon incident with sibling Mandy Touchstone and mother Phyllis Touchstone.
“The incident took place Saturday, the 19th, at approximately 1 p.m.,” said Detective Abraham McKenzie. “ Deputies were called out to 55 Longhaven Church Road which is in the Powers Community of Laurel, Mississippi. The call was about a young man saying he had just shot his sister. He was then identified as James Touchstone, and when deputies arrived on the scene and entered the home, they found Mandy Touchstone laying face-down in a pool of blood. They notified me and I took photos of the scene.”
McKenzie stated that he spoke with the mother, Phyllis Touchstone, who explained the events before the shooting to place.
“She explained that she heard yelling and came downstairs where Mandy had her young baby in her arms, crouched down. Phyllis Touchstone grabbed the baby from Mandy, and James pulled out a handgun, shooting her multiple times which resulted in her death,” explained McKenzie.
Touchstone also faces a kidnapping charge after he allegedly took Phyllis Touchstone’s cell phone and refused to let her call authorities.
Detective Abraham McKenzie and Sheriff Joe Berlin talk at their press conference.
“He would not let her call the police to come out for any help. According to the coroner, she had been there for approximately four hours, laying there, and he did not let her [Phyllis] leave there. He then told her to tell authorities the story he told her to tell them, that was she [Mandy] came at him with a knife. The mother said that he did not. He staged things by putting a knife by her hand saying that that’s what happened.”
Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin explained that this was an isolated event and there is no other threat to the community as the suspect is in custody.
Mandy Touchstone’s children are reportedly safe as well as Phyllis Touchstone.