On November 30, 2022, 36-year-old multi-millionaire Kirby McCord Carpenter was murdered outside his home on County Road 600 in Booneville, Mississippi. Carpenter was shot multiple times in the chest with buckshot pellets, and his body was dragged and concealed under a truck toolbox and a curtain near his carport. On December 2, 2022, his live-in girlfriend Caitlyn Spence reported finding his body after allegedly checking a deer stand. Investigative work revealed that Caitlyn's father, Jeffrey 'Jeff' Spence—a convicted felon who had previously stolen a renowned million-dollar breeding buck named Goliath in Pennsylvania—and her mother Karen Spence were staying at the house. Valuables including gold, silver, safes, and cash were looted from the home around the time of the murder. Exactly one year later, on November 30, 2023, Caitlyn Spence and her parents were arrested and charged with capital murder and grand larceny. In April 2025, Caitlyn pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact and agreed to testify against her parents, alleging that her father confessed to shooting Kirby.
Country: United States
State/Province: Mississippi, United States
City/Region: Booneville
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: Live-in relationship
Relationship Duration: Approximately 3 years
Incident Date: Nov. 30, 2022
Relationship Origins:
Relationship Stages:
Contributing Factors:
Red Flags:
Motives:
Relationship Outcomes:
How the relationship or connection began.
Approximately 3 years
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
2022-11-30
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Dr. Grande · Original language: English
Felon Who Stole 'Champion Buck' Accused of Murdering Daughter's Lover | Kirby Carpenter Analysis
Financial Conflict
The relationship pattern involved an opulent, wealthy business owner who lived with his girlfriend and invited her parents into his residence. The girlfriend's father had a documented criminal record of theft involving high-value assets. Over time, the living arrangement provided the in-laws and partner direct access to the victim's substantial financial wealth, hidden safes, and gold/silver reserves, creating an avenue for financially motivated violent escalation and asset theft.
The victim was shot with buckshot, and his body was dragged and hidden near the carport. CCTV from Walmart established that Caitlyn Spence was parked in her vehicle for 45 minutes around the estimated time of death. The victim's security cameras were disabled, safe combinations were changed, and a wall containing hidden valuables was cut into. A safe deposit box opened by Jeff Spence contained gold, silver, and a personal check written by Kirby Carpenter. Caitlyn Spence, Jeff Spence, and Karen Spence were arrested on November 30, 2023. In April 2025, Caitlyn pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact and agreed to testify against her parents.
Initially, the murder appeared to be an unresolved mystery. Caitlyn Spence claimed she had not seen Kirby for two days due to flu illness and assumed he was hunting in a deer stand. Investigators had to analyze suspicious details such as disabled home security cameras, altered safe codes, and Caitlyn's delayed 911 call before connecting the Spence family to the crime.
On November 30, 2022, Kirby Carpenter was ambushed and shot in his carport upon arriving home at approximately 7:00 p.m. Caitlyn Spence established an alibi by remaining at a Walmart parking lot. The perpetrator dragged the body, concealed it under a curtain and toolbox, cut into wall storage to steal valuables, and disabled home security systems. After two days, Caitlyn reported finding the body. The family subsequently relocated to Virginia and Pennsylvania with stolen assets until financial evidence and Caitlyn's admission led to their prosecution.
The cohabitation of a high-net-worth individual with an in-law who had a felony record for ambitious theft posed severe financial and situational risks. The victim's flaunting of wealth, storage of precious metals at home, and presence of unsecured financial assets in the residence significantly elevated vulnerability to home-targeted violent theft.
Co-residence with individuals possessing prior felony records involving high-value property theft introduces significant situational danger when substantial personal assets are kept in a domestic setting. Disabling surveillance systems and delayed discovery reports serve as critical physical red flags in homicide investigations.
The arrival and prolonged stay of Caitlyn's parents, Jeff Spence's history of calculated theft, and the presence of accessible high-value assets inside the victim's residence were critical early risk indicators.
Key clues included altered safe combination codes, disabled surveillance cameras, a cut wall where valuables were stored, a personal check of Kirby found in Jeff's safe deposit box, and bags of silver observed in Jeff's vehicle.
Strongest evidence included buckshot pellets recovered from the body, Walmart surveillance footage matching timeline gaps, forensic proof of stolen gold and silver linked to Kirby, and Caitlyn Spence's formal plea statement implicating her father.
Maddie Carpenter, the victim's mother, reported that codes to multiple home safes were altered post-murder and stated she observed bags of silver inside Jeff Spence's Cadillac trunk immediately following the homicide.
Follow-up investigations led to the joint arrest of Caitlyn, Jeff, and Karen Spence on November 30, 2023. On April 17, 2025, Caitlyn entered a guilty plea to accessory after the fact, agreeing to testify against her parents at their September 2025 trial.
The precise firearm used to murder Kirby Carpenter remains unrecovered, and the full extent of Karen Spence's direct involvement in the planning or execution of the homicide remains legally unresolved.