New evidence found in Tavares murder

By Leslie N. Dees

May 27, 2009 10:02 am

— New evidence in the murder of Danny Tavares, has Kosciusko Police Chief R.J. Adams hopeful that the two-year-old case will be solved.
Adams said the Mississippi Crime Lab retraced the gathered evidence and found an additional DNA sample that does not belong to Tavares.
Tavares, 52, was found dead at his used car dealership, Tavares Motors, on May 25, 2007, on Highway 12.
The DNA sample has been run against the correctional facilities DNA database and KPD is in the process of gathering DNA samples.
Last week, Adams said his department had several people of interest and are getting their DNA.
With the release of this information, Adams hopes that this may shake the tree and people will come out of the woodwork.
“We feel a lot more confident this year than last year,” Adams said.
Throughout the investigation, Adams said the family has been informed about what is going on. He added that they know about the new DNA sample.
Although evidence is leading KPD to one person, Adams said it is possible that there was more than one person involved.
Adams said there were multiple points of attack at the crime scene.
“We’ve got to find one person and hopefully, it will lead to more,” he said.
During the past two years, Adams said there has only been two or three months when all the leads had run dry.
Adams praised the efforts of Investigator Curtis Pope and Sgt. Pete Belk. He said the pair has traveled the regional area conducting interviews as well as outside the state in search of information in the case.
“We have a good team working on this,” Adams said.
He also commended the MCL for their quicker results due to a more full staff.
We need to get some closure for the family, the community and our department, Adams said.
The KPD is still the lead agency in the case and is being assisted by the Cold Case Unit.
The reward for information leading to the arrests in the case is still at $12,000.
Anyone with information on the Tavares’ case is asked to call KPD at 289-3131.