Columbus man pleads guilty and will be sentenced to life in prison for murder in 2023

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY – A Columbus man was sentenced to life in prison on Oct. 16 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.

Tyshawn Henley, 20, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of Kirby Sherman, 16th Judicial District Attorney Scott Colom told The Dispatch on Wednesday.

Henley was initially charged with murder before pleading to the first-degree charge. Judge Michelle Easterling handed down Henley's life sentence, Colom said, with parole eligibility at 65 years.

Sherman, 31, of Starkville, was killed April 4, 2023, at the Blake Court Townhouses at 1220 Louisville St. When officers arrived, they found Sherman unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was killed in a robbery gone wrong, Colom said.

Henley was arrested the next day by the U.S. Marshal's Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force.

“I think the victim’s father was very lenient,” Colom said. “It was impressive to see that. He has forgiven him. And I think that during the sentencing… Mr. Henley took responsibility for that in a powerful way. There are no winners in this. Just a bad situation.”