June 30, 2022

Prominent McComb attorney arrested in 2021 homicide

Therese Apel

A screenshot from attorney Robert Lenoir's Facebook

A prominent McComb attorney has been arrested on seven counts in connection with the death of a woman who was found dead in his home last year.

Robert Lenoir was arrested Wednesday after several local agencies were forced to recuse themselves from the death investigation surrounding Wendy McMahan Dansby. Since Lenoir was an attorney in the Pike County area, McComb Police Department, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department, and the District Attorney’s office had to recuse themselves because of professional ties to Lenoir through various situations.

District Attorney Dee Bates said Lenoir’s brother with whom he practiced law had once been an intern at the DA’s office.

“His half brother interned here, we worked with him. The appearance of impropriety, we don’t want that,” Bates said. “We want to make this go as smoothly as possible.”

Bates said his office swapped some cases with the Forrest County District Attorney’s office, who will now handle Lenoir’s case.

According to the local news source Hattiesburg Patriot, Lenoir has been indicted for murder, tampering with a witness, tampering with evidence, child abuse andĀ child endangerment, as well as two counts of possession of methamphetamine.

The victim, Wendy Dansby, had just legally changed her name from Wendy McMahan when she was found dead in Lenoir’s home. It’s still unclear to most what her relationship to Lenoir actually was. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case, along with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

Lenoir has reportedly posted bond since last night.

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This story has been edited to reflect that the Hattiesburg Patriot broke the news of the indictment and charges therein.

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