Perry County sheriff arrests Comer McWaters, wanted in Eden Sexton's death

The Alabama murder warrant is what starts an extradition fight, and the Perry County counts are a separate Mississippi case that grew out of the arrest itself. Sheriff Jacob Garner's account of the knives and the struggle is the police narrative of how he was taken into custody. A warrant gets a defendant in front of a court. It does not decide the homicide file.

Law&Crime reported Oct. 4, citing the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, that McWaters is charged with murder in Sexton's death in Alabama. AL.com also reported that ALEA announced the murder charge. Sexton, 49, was reported missing from Columbus, Georgia. Law&Crime reported that Columbus police said she was last seen around 11 a.m. on Feb. 22 in the 4000 block of Victory Drive. ALEA has said special agents developed evidence that produced the murder warrant. Authorities have not publicly detailed how she died.

On Sept. 21, Perry County deputies got a tip about an Alabama man living under an alias in the Buck Creek community, WDAM and Law&Crime reported. Deputies did not yet know he was wanted in the homicide. When they tried to take him into custody, he ran into the woods. Sheriff Jacob Garner, who was visiting his mother, later saw a man matching the description walk out of the woods onto a private drive. Garner told WDAM he identified himself and told the man he was under arrest. Law&Crime, citing the sheriff's office, reported that McWaters was armed with two large knives and that Garner disarmed him after a struggle.

McWaters remains in the Perry County Jail pending extradition to Alabama. WDAM reported that Perry County also charged him with trespassing, disorderly conduct, simple assault on an officer, resisting arrest, and providing false identifying information. An arrest or charge is an accusation, not a conviction; everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.