Jimmy Lee Gray

After Elda was reported missing, Gray participated in the search efforts, which raised suspicions among law enforcement.

Investigators observed that the pattern on Gray's shoes matched footprints found at the crime scene.

Under questioning, Gray led deputies to a culvert near the Colorado River, where Elda's body was discovered.

Internal examination revealed mud in the girl’s mouth, windpipe, and air sacs in the lungs.

Due to Deressa being known to frequently visit Gray's apartment to play with his cats, he was seen as a high priority suspect.

The police found him at the Colonel Dixie Hamburger restaurant on Highway 90, where his "live-in" girlfriend worked.

En route, it was decided that a statement should be taken from Gray and, after giving him the Miranda warnings, he was taken to the police station.

While driving to the station, or when they arrived at the station, the exact moment being unclear, the police submitted information on Gray through the National Crime Information Center computer system and received a reply reflecting a "hit", indicating that Gray was wanted for some criminal offense.

Prison officials said Gray ate "heartily", sharing the massive meal with the ministers, and when they were finished he was given a protestant communion.

[9] At the time of Gray's execution, the gas chamber used in Mississippi had a vertical steel pole directly behind the inmate's chair.

The following reaction produced a plume of hydrogen cyanide gas that rose upwards around Gray.

As the execution approached the 8-minute mark, Gray's eyes were rolled in the back of his head and his mouth was foaming.

Officials decided to clear the observation room at 12:18 am after the gas had been released, because of Gray's injuries.

He was pronounced dead, twelve minutes after the pellets were released, by the doctor who could hear his heart through the stethoscope, die" according to a testimony by Dr.

[13] The decision to clear the room was sharply criticized by Dennis Balske, Gray's attorney.

"Jimmy Lee Gray died banging his head against a steel pole in the gas chamber while reporters counted his moans (eleven, not nearly enough according to the Associated Press)".

Traystman further testified that the lethal-gas method is sufficiently painful that it is disfavored in the scientific community as a way of putting animals to sleep.