Mississippi Department of Public Safety - Mississippi Highway Patrol, Mississippi
End of Watch: Thursday, December 31, 1981
Age: 37
Tour of Duty: 8 years
Badge Number: J-52
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 31, 1981
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Trooper Billy Langham was shot and killed after stopping a speeding motorist on Highway 49 near Collins, Mississippi.
The vehicle was occupied by four male subjects. Trooper Langham noticed a butcher knife on the front seat and removed the front seat occupant of the vehicle to be searched. He also removed the knife and placed it on the top of his patrol car. As he was bent over searching the car, the subject grabbed the knife from the top of the cruiser and began stabbing Trooper Langham in the back. He attempted to draw his weapon but was overpowered by the subjects and was fatally shot with it.
The suspects fled but were followed by witnesses. The suspects, 30, 37, and two, 27, were apprehended an hour later when they attempted to run a roadblock on U.S. 49 south of Collins.
Two suspects, 27 and 30, were sentenced to life. The other 27-year-old was sentenced to 25 years. The killer, 37, was sentenced to death. He was granted a new trial and sentenced to life on October 26, 1992. He died in prison in 2009. As of December 4, 2022, the 30-year-old was in prison. Another was released in 1989. The fourth died in prison on March 7, 2018.
Trooper Langham had served with the Mississippi Highway Patrol for eight years. He was survived by his wife and two children.
A section of U.S. Highway 49 in Collins was dedicated to Trooper Langham's memory.