WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Five Suspects Arrested in 2000 Murder Case

Five Suspects Arrested in 2000 Murder Case

By Andrew Hasbun
andrew@wlbt.net

A multi-state murder investigation ended Friday with the arrest of a well-known Jackson businessman.  The former owner of the Wee Land Grocery Store is accused of ordering the murder of his daughter in-law.

In all, five people were arrested all are from Jackson and all face murder charges, including Chiman Rai, also known as C. L. Rai.  Police say he ordered the April 2000 murder of his son's new wife because he didn't like the color of her skin.  It took more than six years, but now a father finally has answers.

"It is something I thought would never happen and today was a dream come true," said Bennett Reid, the victim's father.  

In April of 2000, Sparkle Michelle Rai was strangled and stabbed to death in her Atlanta home.  Her seven-month-old child was with her.  Police had few leads.  Eventually, the case went cold. But in 2004, a tip helped reopen the case.  Investigators say Cleveland and Carl Clark of Jackson were there the night of the murder.  Cleveland is believed to be the killer.  The two are currently in prison for armed robbery.  Police believe they were approached by Willie Fred Evans and Herbert Greene of Jackson.  Prosecutors say these two acted as middlemen. 

Police say the mastermind of this murder is Chiman L. Rai.  He was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky. Rai, who is of Indian descent, owned the Wee Land Grocery Store on Bailey Avenue.  Rai's son, Ricky, had been married to Sparkle, who is black, for only one month.  Prosecutors say the Rai family was not pleased with the interracial marriage.

"Efforts were made to get her to withdraw from the marriage, and when that didn't work out, the decision was made to have her killed," said Fulton County D. A. Paul L. Howard Jr.

"He'll have to answer for what he has done," expressed Reid.  

The victim's family says they never met the Rais. 

"We knew that there may have been a problem with the racial issue, but we didn't know the extent at all," stated the victim's stepmother Donna Lowry.  

C. L. Rai is no stranger to the law.  In 1997 he was caught selling tens of thousands of dollars worth of stolen goods out of his Medgar Evers Blvd. store, but the case never went to trial.  He lived in a Madison County mansion.  The 67-year-old is now in a Louisville, Kentucky jail awaiting extradition to Atlanta. Police say they are still investigating, but they believe the Rai's son was not involved in the murder.  In fact, police think the two moved to Atlanta to get away from the family.  One interesting fact is that Ricky Rai now lives in Chicago and has a new family there.  According to prosecutors, he never told his new family about his former life in Atlanta.