Court dates reset for former Saltillo mayor, woman charged as murder accessory

Feb. 18– Two high-profile cases in Hardin County Circuit Court were reset today for March 28.

Cybill Grant is charged with accessory after the fact of first degree murder and accessory after the fact of aggravated arson in the 2001 death of her mother, Mildred Grant.

According to a state arson investigator, Cybill implicated herself in the killing in a Jan. 13 statement to authorities.

Johnny Hays, an agent with the state Bomb and Arson Section, testified Cybill Grant put herself at the scene of the crime with John Wesley May, who was charged with first degree murder, aggravated arson, especially aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence.

However, May was acquitted of all charges on Feb. 15, raising the question of how Cybill can be an accessory to circumstances a jury found could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Former Saltillo mayor Larry Lowery’s hopes to have his citizenship restored–and perhaps regain his elected position–were delayed.

Lowery stepped down as the town’s mayor on Feb. 1 after the Hardin County Election Commission learned he had not petitioned to have his citizenship rights restored following felony drug convictions in 1989.

District Attorney General Hansel McCadams asked for the case to be reset, explaining he had yet to receive routine confirmation from federal authorities that Lowery had completed his sentence.

According to Lowery’s attorney, Jay Reynolds, officials for the U.S. District Court in Jackson have told him a tornado had compromised many of the case files, possibly including Lowery’s.

Reynolds instead has submitted as evidence a certificate of parole from the U.S. Parole Commission.

The Saltillo city board has named one of its aldermen, Carolyn Wood, as interim mayor pending a permanent appointment until the next regularly scheduled city election.