MEMPHIS, TN - Shock, anger and sadness fill the small town of Henning, TN. Investigators are trying to find the killer, or killers, of two postal workers. U.S. Postal Inspectors have upped reward money for information leading to an arrest. It's now at $50,000. While the hunt is on, the town is on edge.
The flag was flying at half-staff at the Henning post office Tuesday afternoon, but the killers were still on the loose.
“About to explode with anger, plus hurt," that’s how Henning resident Bobby Boone described his emotions.
Boone says he can't imagine the Henning Post Office without the smiling faces of Paula Robinson and Judy Spray.
“You couldn't ask for better two than those two right there,” said Boone. “They're just as nice to one person as they were to the other.”
People in town don't know what's going on with the investigation. While the cops remain tight-lipped, rumors are running rampant. There are rumors about the killings being the result of a gang initiation.
“People are going to say drugs, people are going to say gangs, just to carry on a conversation,” said Maurice Jackson.
There are rumors about what the police know. People say there were no working surveillance cameras inside the post office. Jackson said he hung a dummy camera himself. Others say everyone knew it was a fake camera.
“The US government should do more to protect their employees,” said resident Percy Williams. “That camera wasn’t real. It was a dummy.”
The US Postal Inspector’s office wanted to put that rumor to rest.
“I can confirm that we do not have fake cameras inside the post office,” said spokeswoman Yulanda Burns.
But they do know one thing. They want justice.
“Both of them had kids. And for that to happen, man, I wouldn't have no remorse on somebody like that,” Maurice Jackson said of whoever did it.
“You wouldn't think in this small town that something would happen like this," said Henning native Julie Balton.
People living in Henning aren't the only ones in the dark about what happened. So are family members of the victims. Kay Vaughn is Judy Spray's cousin. She tells myEyewitnessNews.com Spray's husband is having a tough time coping. "He can't take it. That's awful to lose your wife like that over nothing. That's awful, that's ashame."
More than 60 investigators have descended on this small town. US Postal Inspectors promise to punish the people who gunned down these two women.
“We want to find those responsible, but we want to make sure we have our I’s dotted and T's crossed. Because, when we punish these people, we want to make sure it's a good one," said Burns.
“I'm just praying for the family and Henning as a whole,” said Balton.
The post office in Henning is shut down indefinitely. The Postal Service says it will be bringing in a mobile unit to handle the town's mail.
