HOLBROOK, Ariz. — Nearly three decades after 28-year-old Jody Hemphill was found stabbed to death in a music store in Lakeside, Arizona, his killer is now behind bars with the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Romeo Clarence Massey, Jr., 45, of Whiteriver, was sentenced in Navajo County Superior Court to 25 years in prison Feb. 28 for the 1996 robbery and murder. He will serve 22 years for one count of murder in the second degree, a Class 1 dangerous felony, and three years for one count of robbery, a Class 4 felony.
On Nov. 6, 1996, a citizen discovered Hemphill’s body behind the counter of the Mountain Edge Tapes & CD’s store, where he was an employee. He had been stabbed 19 times and there were signs of a robbery. In the early years of the investigation, evidence led investigators to believe Massey may have been involved with the crime, but it was not sufficient to charge him then or in the intervening years. In 2023, the Pinetop-Lakeside Police Department obtained and analyzed new evidence that led them to Massey, and he was arrested in June. Massey pleaded guilty in January to the robbery and murder.
Massey will serve the two prison sentences consecutively and is not eligible for early release on the murder conviction.
Information provided by Navajo County Attorney’s Office.
