Former Mississippi Officer Agrees To Plead Guilty To Murdering Mistress

A former Mississippi police officer has agreed to plead guilty to murdering his former mistress after she threatened to expose their affair. 

Matthew Kinne, 38, has agreed to take a plea deal of a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to be sentenced in the Union County Courthouse on Friday.

Kinne was arrested on May 20, 2019, just one day after the body of Dominique Clayton, 32, was discovered by her children. Her four children returned home from a weekend at their uncle’s house, and her 8-year-old son found her dead in her bed. Clayton had been shot in the head while she slept. 

The former Oxford Police Officer was romantically linked to Clayton, despite being married to another woman. Kinne’s Lawyer, Tony Farese, told WREG that his client “broke” when Clayton ended things and threatened to tell his wife.

“He’s remorseful,” Farese said. “This was a situation where he literally got to the point where he broke.”

Kinne was indicted on a capital murder charge in August of 2019. He initially pleaded not guilty and has been waiting for a trial for nearly two years. The case endures delays from the Mississippi crime lab and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Kinne was with the Oxford Police Department for about four years. He was fired three days after being taken into custody.