The parents of Bethany White await the trial of the man officials say drove the truck that hit and killed their daughter in the parking lot of a Weir convenience store
With the shades in their living room blocking sunlight from entering the living room, Kenny and Kelli White of Louisville alternate between smiles, tears and anger as they talk about the loss of their 20-year-old daughter Bethany last July 28.
Bethany was hit and killed by a pickup truck allegedly driven by Louisville native and McCool resident Richard Perry Ford, who has been charged with felony 
negligent manslaughter and felony leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. According to Attala County Sheriff Tim Nail at the time of Ford’s arrest, the pair can be seen on store video arguing in the parking lot of PeeWee’s convenience store on Highway 12 near Weir prior to Bethany being struck by Ford’s truck.
The last time the Whites saw their daughter — the only girl among their six children — was at a farewell party for their son, Elijah, 19, who was shipping out for military service. That was a just a couple of days before Sheriff’s deputies showed up at their front door to tell them Bethany had been killed.
The young woman’s death followed what her parents readily admit was a difficult stretch of years when their only daughter had struggled with addiction. But it hadn’t always that way, and they were certain that at the time of her passing, she was back on track and had a bright future ahead of her.
“She was a strong-willed little girl, a leader,” said Kenny of Bethany’s early years. “If they (her brothers) were scared, they went to her. She loved to get into a crowd and talk.”
Kelli White smiles as she remembers Bethany as a smart and popular child, a cheerleader and winner of several beauty pageants. The girl played clarinet and loved animals, according to her mother.
“She was very, very beautiful, but as she got older, her beauty began to draw some negative attention,” said Kelli.
Only weeks before her death, after a two-month stint in a drug rehabilitation facility, the Whites were shocked to finally learn what had sent their daughter in the wrong direction: a family member had begun sexually abusing their daughter during her middle school years.
“She began to lose interest in things that she loved,” said Kelli.
“We had no idea. The signs were there, but I never put two-and-two together,” said Kenny.
What started as marijuana and pill use during her middle school years eventually grew into a methamphetamine addiction during the final two years of her life.
The parents insist that the move into methamphetamine use was not by Bethany’s choice.
“The first time, a person she was with did it. She (Bethany) was under the influence of alcohol and a man she was with shot her up. It wasn’t her choice,” said Kenny.
“She said she would wake up and think, ‘That drug is calling my name,’” Kelli said her daughter told her of the hold methamphetamine had over the young woman.
Drug addiction and her appearance put Bethany in yet another bad situation in April of last year. According to an indictment against Webster County Sheriff Tim Mitchell, Mitchell groped Bethany while she was in custody in the county jail and he purportedly released her from jail, giving her $200 in expectation that she would meet later up with him, but she refused all communications with him once she was released.
Despite it all, the Whites are certain Bethany was finally headed in the right direction.
“She loved people and even in her darkest hours, she wanted to help people,” Kenny said of the young woman who would never have the chance to resume her education, as she had planned.
In all her years, Bethany had sought to help others, her parents said. She regularly brought people in need to the family home to eat, and give them clothing if they needed it.
“It was like the Lord allowed her to find favor with people,” said Kelli.
Bethany had been making plans for her future and was cleaning houses to support herself and save money for her education, according to the Whites. That, they said, was how she met Ford. A friend had reportedly introduced the two and she was hired to clean his home.
“The last time we saw her, she was doing good,” said Kelli “She was thinking about getting her degree in counseling because she had been there and thought she could help people.”
Bethany’s parents believe their daughter was clean at the time of her death.
The young woman had been at her parents’ house the day before she was killed and Kenny and Kelli had made arrangements to buy her a trailer to live in on her grandparents’ property.
“It really surprised us when she wasn’t there that Saturday. We had been texting her Saturday afternoon telling her that she didn’t have to worry about having a place to live and that her dad was looking into getting her a car,” said Kelli. “We were making plans for her to live this clean life and she was restoring relationships. Above all, she loved the Lord.”
Instead, they say, Ford was giving Bethany a ride to see a friend from rehab in Starkville when the pair stopped at PeeWee’s and ended up in an argument after which Ford’s truck hit and killed their daughter that Saturday afternoon.
“I believe it was intentional; that he meant to do it,” Kenny said of Ford. When Ford appeared in Attala County Circuit Court last month for his arraignment, Kenny followed him from the courtroom and Sheriff’s deputies separated the two before there was any physical confrontation.
“If I could have gotten my hands on him…. I just wanted to get my hands on him. I would give everything I own to be in a room with him for 10 minutes,” said
Kenny after seeing the man he believes is responsible for his daughter’s death in person. “It probably isn’t the right way to feel, but I’m a daddy. We’re Christians, but we want justice.”
Now, out in the front yard of the White’s home, there is a tree tied with a large yellow ribbon for Elijah, and a large Black ribbon hangs from the mailbox at the edge of the road in Bethany’s honor.
“They yellow ribbon will come down when Elijah comes home, and the black ribbon will come down when we get justice for Bethany,” said Kenny.
