TUEPLO, Miss — The severely decomposed remains of a woman found near Downtown Tupelo has been identified 16 months later.

The remains were found May 12, 2024, behind a house in the 500 block of Magazine Street in a wooded area between Magazine and the railroad tracks. When recovered, the body was in a “very decomposed state,” leading Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green to feel the body had been there for a month or more.

The body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Pearl for autopsy and DNA extraction. While they were not able to determine a cause of death, officials identified the woman as Kathleen Fildes, 51, thanks to the assistance of a DNA computer database. She was believed to be homeless at the time, having come to Mississippi from Las Vegas.

In January 2024, Fildes w

See Full Page