Three Indicted For Charges Related To The Short Family Murder Case

Roanoke, VA -- Indictments have been handed up for three men who lied to investigators about the Short family murders.The US Attorney in Roanoke, Virginia announced the indictments Friday morning.Timothy Fennon Sampson, Jerry Riley Mills and Tony Lee Epperson all face charges. All three are in custody in North Carolina.Someone murdered Michael and Mary Short in their Henry County, Virginia home in August 2002 and kidnapped their nine year old daughter, Jennifer. Investigators found the girl's remains six weeks later in Rockingham County. No one has been charged with those murders.Investigators say Sampson, Mills and Epperson all lied to officers about what they observed the night the Short family was murdered.According to the indictment, Sampson and Mills told police they were in Bassett, Virginia the night of the Short family murders. The two told investigators they were scoping out the area for a possible burglary when they saw someone who looked like Abraham Lincoln leaving the Short home with a lifeless girl in a nightgown.Investigators say this whole story is a lie -- made up by Sampson and Mills.In addition, the indictment alleges Sampson and Mills also made threats against two law officers working this case."Both of these officers have had their lives threatened simply because they were doing their job by investigating this case", says John Brownlee, US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.Timothy Fennon Sampson, 40, of Randolph County is charged with threatening to kill two law enforcement officers and forcing his daughter to falsely testify in this case.Jerry Riley Mills, 42, of Guilford County is accused of conspiracy, perjury and providing false information. Mills is in the Guilford County jail.Tony Lee Epperson, 32, of Stokes County is accused of providing false information to the task force investigating the murders. Epperson is in the Randolph County jail.Even though today's indictments did not bring investigators closer to a killer, the US Attorney says the work on the Short case will continue."The members of law enforcement who stand with me today have seen both highs and lows during the past 31 months. Yet we remain undeterred in ultimately charging the person or persons who committed these crimes."Stay with WFMY News 2 for continuing coverage of this story. We have multiple crews working all angles of this case and will have on WFMY News 2 at 5pm and right here on wfmynews2.com.