Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘The Butcher and the Box’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here’ delves deep into the tragic killing of 21-year-old Jeffrey Wolfe, who was on a trip with his new girlfriend in Mississippi. When his dismembered remains were discovered near a property in Moss Point, the detectives uncovered a drug transaction gone wrong. As they talked with Jeffrey’s girlfriend, they were led straight to the perpetrator/s responsible for the crime.
Jeffrey Wolfe’s Trip to Mississippi Turned Deadly
On November 29, 1974, in Harris County, Texas, Paskiel Lee Wolfe and April Annette Lowery Wolfe welcomed a little bundle of joy in the form of Jeffrey Lee Wolfe. He seemingly grew up in a loving and supportive household and graduated from high school with flying colors. Around 1996, he crossed paths with a young woman named Charlene Brooke Leaser, whom he began dating in early August of the same year. Three days into their relationship, he introduced her to his father before leaving for Mississippi the following day from Houston, Texas. The trip turned out to be their first and final one together as it resulted in Jeffrey’s unexpected and untimely demise.
In the early hours of August 13, Charlene reached out to a woman’s house in Moss Point, Mississippi, and told her that she had been raped and tortured while her 21-year-old boyfriend was murdered in a neighboring house. When the police were informed, they rushed to the crime scene and found Jeffrey’s dismembered remains in the yard of a house, as well as in a bayou in Moss Point. They also came across a couple of possible murder weapons around the crime scene — an ax and a knife. Immediately, a homicide investigation was launched to get to the bottom of the case.
Jeffrey Wolfe Was Reportedly Killed Due to a Drug Transaction Gone Wrong
As part of the investigation, the detectives interviewed the survivor, Charlene Brooke Leaser, who told them what had led to Jeffrey’s brutal killing. She told them that they drove to Jackson County, Mississippi, where they met Gary Carl Simmons and his brother-in-law, Timothy John Milano, at Gary’s house. According to reports, Jeffrey had been providing marijuana to Gary while Timothy sold it, before Jeffrey collected the money. Thus, Jeffrey and Charlene went to Gary’s place on the evening of August 12, 1996, to pick up the money, between $12,000 and $20,000, that Gary and Timothy owed him. The couple also reportedly planned to go on a vacation in New Orleans from Mississippi. Things went south when the two men told Jeffrey that they neither had his drugs nor his money.
After a heated argument erupted between the men, Timothy reportedly shot Jeffrey to death with a .22-caliber rifle. Following the shooting, Gary tied Charlene and held her hostage inside a metal box. Unable to escape, the young woman was reportedly raped and tortured by Gary. He then dismembered Jeffrey’s remains in the bathroom and disposed of them in the bayou behind the house with the help of Timothy. Meanwhile, Charlene managed to escape and alerted the authorities with the help of a neighboring woman. Thus, on August 13, Timothy was arrested at his apartment, while Gary turned himself in the following day. Both of them were charged with murder, rape, and kidnapping in connection with Jeffrey’s murder.
Gary Was Executed by the State in 2012, and Timothy is Currently Incarcerated at a Mississippi Prison
About a year after committing the horrific crimes against Jeffrey Wolfe and Charlene Brooke Leaser, Gary Simmons and Timothy Milano were found guilty of the charges against them in August 1997. Not long after, Gary was sentenced to death for Jeffrey’s murder and two life terms for the kidnapping and raping charges. On the other hand, his accomplice and brother-in-law was sentenced to life in prison for capital murder and an additional 30 years for kidnapping. Meanwhile, the rape charge against him was dismissed. More than a decade later, on June 20, 2012, Gary Simmons was scheduled to be lethally injected at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Mississippi.
Before that, he requested a final meal that included a pizza, chips, jalapeno nacho cheese and peppers, cherry soda, french fries, and more. Just a few moments before his execution, the killer said, “I’ve been blessed to be loved by some good people, by some amazing people. I thank them for their support. Now, let’s get it on so these people can go home. That’s it.” At 6:16 pm that same evening, he was pronounced dead at 6:16 pm. As of today, Timothy Milano is serving his sentence at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl, Mississippi.
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