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Man who helped solve the Sherry murders could die in prison
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A member of the Dixie Mafia who helped authorities solve the Sherry murders over two decades ago could soon die in prison.
Bobby Joe Fabian, in exchange for leniency in his prison time, linked a Louisiana prison telephone scam against homosexuals to the 1987 execution-style murders of Biloxi Circuit Court Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, former Biloxi Councilwoman Margaret Sherry.
Fabian, 67, is serving a life sentence at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman for an unrelated murder. He is housed in Unit 31, which is used specifically for disabled or elderly inmates, MDOC spokesman Adam Lee said.
Cynthia Speetjens, Fabian’s attorney, said her client is in congestive heart failure. Through labored breathing Thursday, he told Speetjens that prison doctors planned to remove fluid from around his lungs Tuesday, she said.
“I don’t know if he’ll live till Tuesday,” she said. “This is a man who is very, very, very sick and broken. The only thing he’s ever asked is not to die in prison.”
Former FBI agent Keith Bell, who oversaw the Sherry case, said Fabian cooperated with authorities around 1990 while he was serving a life sentence for kidnapping at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.
“He was the first to come forward with significant information for the FBI case on the Sherry murders,” he said. Fabian gave information that was “critical to putting the FBI and the federal authorities on the right track to eventually indict and prosecute those responsible.”
Former Biloxi mayor Pete Halat, Vincent Sherry’s law partner, was convicted along with hitman Thomas Holcomb in 1997.
Holcomb died in prison. Halat could be released from federal prison in Oakdale, La., in 2013.
Former Biloxi striptease lounge owner Mike Gillich Jr., who helped plan the murders, was released from prison for his part in the crime after he implicated Holcomb and Halat. He died in Biloxi on April 28 at the age of 82.
Bell believes Fabian, like Gillich, should be released for his help unraveling the high-profile murder case.
But even if Mississippi released him, the executive agreement with Louisiana that allowed him to serve his time here would take effect.
“If he’s released in Mississippi, he goes back to Louisiana to finish his life sentence there,” Bell said.
The former FBI agent has made several attempts over the years to convince Louisiana to release its hold on Fabian for his crimes there, which involved the non-fatal shooting of two law enforcement officers.
“I personally feel he’s served adequate time -- that being approximately 40 years -- for the crime he’s committed and because of his age and health he deserves some freedom, whether it be a week, a month or a year or multiple years.”
Speetjens’ mission for the past 12 years has been to honor the FBI’s promise to Fabian. “The only thing anybody could have ever done for Bobby was to get him out before he died,” she said. “And I don’t see that happening.”
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