The death of a woman originally from this area whose body was found in a creek in north Jackson is being investigated as a homicide.
Sgt. Roderick Holmes of the Jackson Police Department told news outlets the JPD found the body of 30-year-old Traci Nichole Clarke in Hanging Moss Creek after receiving a call at around 7 a.m. on April 16. He said the body was located near the Woodway Drive-Manhattan Road intersection.
Clarke, according to her obituary, was a former resident of Starkville. Her survivors include two daughters, one of Mathiston and another of Maben, in addition to other family members from Maben
Facebook pages for her in the name of “Traci Clark” and “Nichole Clark” (without an “e” on the end of her surname as listed in her obituary) indicate she was from Maben and attended East Webster High School. Her profiles on those pages state she had lived in Starkville, Eupora and Ackerman.
Police said that on April 16, a person riding their bike across a bridge looked over and could see the victim’s body near the waterline in the creek, according to news reports. Holmes said police could tell the body had “definitely” been in the creek for more than 24 hours by the time it was located.
The Hinds County coroner has since said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, and Holmes said investigators are treating Clarke’s death as a homicide, according to published reports.
The Starkville Daily News reported Thursday that Holmes said a couple of JPD detectives are working the case but did not yet have any concrete leads as far as an actual suspect or suspects.
Anyone with information that could help police in the investigation is encouraged to call JPD at 601-960-1234 or Crimestoppers at 601-355-8477.
Services for Clarke were April 21 at Welch Funeral Home in Starkville.
