Ashley Henley
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Ashley Henley (May 17, 1981 – June 13, 2021) was an American teacher and politician from
Southaven Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Greater Memphis. The 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making it the 3rd most populous city in Mississippi and the largest suburb of Memp ...
,
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, who served in the
Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...
from the 40th district from 2016 to 2020. She was a member of the Republican Party.


Early life and career

Henley taught in the DeSoto County School District for 13 years. She was also an adjunct instructor in American history at
Northwest Mississippi Community College Northwest Mississippi Community College is a public community college in Senatobia, Mississippi. It was founded in 1928. As of 2024, Northwest's enrollment is approximately 6,800 students. There are approximately 2,000 students on the Senatobia ...
.


Political career

Henley first ran as a Republican for the
Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...
in the 40th district in the 2015 Republican
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...
against Pat Nelson, the incumbent. She was one of several challengers to incumbent legislators not supporting private voucher schools who defeated the incumbents with financial assistance from the
political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
of Empower Mississippi. In 2019, Henley lost her re-election bid to Hester Jackson-McCray, a member of the Democratic Party, by 14 votes. Henley brought suit in state court to overturn the election results. Henley sought a do-over election, but the Mississippi House declined her request, seating Jackson-McCray. After leaving the state house, Henley worked for the Mississippi Center for Public Policy as a legislative fellow.


Personal life

Henley was married to Brandon Henley. They had a son together.


Death

On June 13, 2021, Henley was shot and killed in
Water Valley, Mississippi Water Valley is a city in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,392 at the 2010 census. It is the larger of two county seats in the rural county, and at one time was the center of railroad shops. Geography According ...
, close to a trailer where her sister-in-law's burned body was found in December 2020. The sister-in-law's death was reported to be the result of a trailer fire. Though the investigation is ongoing, investigators said since Henley's shooting they are looking at the sister-in-law's death "with fresh eyes". Henley and her husband had previously said that investigators concluded Henley's sister-in-law Kristina Michelle Jones died in an arson, but the couple said Jones was murdered as there was no smoke in Jones's lungs at autopsy, indicating that Jones must have died prior to the fire. The couple also said that law enforcement in
Yalobusha County Yalobusha County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,481. It has two county seats, Water Valley and Coffeeville. History ''Yalobusha'' is a Native American word, likely fr ...
was refusing to do anything substantial about it. A man who lived across the street from Jones' trailer was later arrested for arson of the trailer, and on June 30, 2022 was indicted for Henley's murder. Those charges were later dismissed
without prejudice ''Prejudice'' is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, ''prejudice'' differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical mea ...
on motion of an assistant district attorney and Circuit Judge, who wrote "After reviewing the case for trial, attorneys for the State requested additional time to fully investigate and review this matter" in a document filed with the
Yalobusha County, Mississippi Yalobusha County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,481. It has two county seats, Water Valley and Coffeeville. History ''Yalobusha'' is a Native American word, likely f ...
Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...
.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henley, Ashley 1981 births 2021 deaths Deaths by firearm in Mississippi Republican Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Women state legislators in Mississippi American murder victims Educators from Mississippi 21st-century American educators 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American women politicians People from Southaven, Mississippi Northwest Mississippi Community College alumni University of Mississippi alumni History of women in Mississippi 21st-century members of the Mississippi Legislature 2021 murders in the United States Unsolved murders in Mississippi