One of the supporters of Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) who was allegedly involved in directing a political blogger to break into the nursing home of Sen. Thad Cochran’s (R-MS) wife, has committed suicide.
Sources confirm Mark Mayfield, an attorney and tea party leader at center of Cochran nursing home scandal, has committed suicide. #MSSen
— Sam R. Hall (@samrhall) June 27, 2014
Mayfield’s lawyers confirmed to TPM on Friday that Mayfield had died. One of Mayfield’s lawyers, John Reeves, said it was in an apparent suicide.
Police said Friday that officers responding to a 911 call found Mayfield in the storage room of his garage with a single gunshot wound to the head. A large caliber revolver was found near Mayfield’s body.
“Initial investigation at the scene by investigators with the Ridgeland Police Department did not reveal any indication of foul play and the death is currently under investigation,” a statement from the Ridgeland Police Department said.
Ridgeland police chief Jimmy Houston told CNN that Mayfield’s death “appears to be a suicide, but we still got some things to look into.”
Ridgeland police also elaborated to TPM: “There was a note located at the scene but we are not releasing the contents,” Ridgeland Police Department Lieutenant John Neal said in an email.
Mayfield (pictured), an attorney and member of the Central Mississippi Tea Party, was one of the men arrested in connection with the criminal case against political blogger “Constitutional Clayton” Kelly, who allegedly went to the nursing home of Rose Cochran’s nursing home to take her photograph to use in an anti-Cochran video. Mayfield and Kelly were supporters of McDaniel.
Mayfield’s family has been notified as well, according to Hall.
@jzgeorge Yes. It’s being written right now. We had to make sure that his family knew before we went with it.
— Sam R. Hall (@samrhall) June 27, 2014
Keith Plunkett, the policy director for the McDaniel campaign, seemed to be one of the first staffers to respond to Mayfield’s death. Plunkett’s tweet has been deleted but TPM took a screenshot.
“It’s a terrible tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, ” Cochran communications director Jordan Russell told TPM on Friday in response to the news of Mayfield’s death.
McDaniel released the following statement on Mayfield on Friday afternoon:
Regardless of recent allegations made against his character, Mark Mayfield was a fine Christian man who was always respectful and kind. He was one of the most polite and humble men I’ve ever met in politics. He was a loving husband, father, a pillar of his community, and he will be missed. We are saddened by his loss, and we send our thoughts and prayers to his wife, his family and friends.
