Gleese murder case moves forward as 1 pleads guilty, 1 gets trial date

Published 1:57 pm Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Two defendants in the 2024 murder case of a Vicksburg man appeared in front of Judge M. James Chaney Tuesday in Warren County Circuit Court.

Carolyn Mansfield, 52, who was indicted for depraved heart murder and arson in the February 2024 death of 75-year-old Ernest Gleese, entered a plea of guilty to second-degree murder and arson.

In February 2024, firefighters responding to a fire at 508 1/2 Speed St. discovered Gleese’s body after extinguishing the flames from a house fire. Mansfield’s sentencing has been set for two weeks from Tuesday.

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Albert Thomas, who is also charged with depraved heart murder and arson in the Gleese case, confirmed his trial date of July 14.