Romeo Clarence Massey Jr., 45, pleaded guilty this week in Navajo County Superior Court to the 1996 cold case murder of Jody Hemphill, 28, in a music store in Lakeside.
Massey, a resident of Whiteriver, pleaded guilty on Jan. 29, to one count of murder in the second degree and one count of robbery. He was arrested in June 2023, after the Pinetop-Lakeside Police Department, which has reviewed the case numerous times since 1996, obtained and analyzed new evidence that led investigators to Massey.
The murder victim, Hemphill, a resident of Lakeside, was found stabbed to death on Nov. 6, 1996, behind the counter of the Mountain Edge Tapes & CD’s store, where he was an employee.
The terms of the plea agreement stipulate Massey will be sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Massey will be sentenced at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in Navajo County Superior Court.
