Four adult entertainers stripped a man of his life after he helped them change a flat tire, police said.
Brittany Curry, 28, Ponesha Taylor, 23, Johniesha Simmons, 19, and Lauteshia Dotson, 23, from Memphis and Nashville, have all been charged with first degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in connection with Ralph Cross’s Aug. 1 death at his home in Missouri, Fox 13 reports.
Cross, 55, reportedly bought a new tire for the women, and allowed them to stay in his home while he worked on their vehicle.
The women reportedly stayed at his house until Cross’ body was discovered there Tuesday morning.
The women may have used a 9mm handgun to kill Cross, investigators say.
Acting Mississippi County Sheriff Branden Caid said Curry pulled the trigger on Cross, CBS-affiliate KFVS 12 reported.
He died of a gunshot wound to the back.
Cross was last seen in his house around 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 1 — the day he died.
A witness said he saw Cross arguing with three of the women, while the fourth woman remained in a white car parked outside his house.
The witness said that as he walked toward his home, he heard a noise and saw the three women leave Cross’ home and enter the white car.
The witness said he heard one of the women who was in that car say that Cross was “tripping and do not go back down there,” KFVS 12 reported.
Caid said the women killed Cross after robbing him.
Investigators said couch cushions were ruffled and that pockets of pants belonging to Cross had been turned out. Other evidence pointed to a robbery, too.
The women turned themselves in to the Mississippi County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 3, after friends and family who had seen their pictures from surveillance footage on the news persuaded them to tell their side of the story.
None of the women has admitted to the murder, or identified what role they played in it.
Curry, Taylor, Simmons and Dotson are all being held in separate facilities without bond.
