The vice chair of the Mississippi Tea Party, recently arrested for involvement in a plot to take photos of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran’s ailing wife in a nursing home, committed suicide in his home on the morning of June 27, the Clarion-Ledger reports. The wife of Mark Mayfield found him dead from a single gunshot in their Ridgefield, Mississippi, residence.
The 57-year-old attorney was one of three arrested on May 22 for alleged participation in a plot to sneak into a Madison, Mississippi, nursing home and take pictures of Rose Cochran, who has resided in the facility for medical care since 2000. After law enforcement received complaint of a photo being posted online, apparently in support of Cochran’s primary challenger Chris McDaniel, Mayfield and others were charged with ?illegally and improperly obtain[ing] an image of a vulnerable adult resident without their consent for his own benefit.? Mayfield was released that same day after posting a $250,000 bond.
The prank didn’t provide the help intended, either. After a June 3 primary, Cochran and McDaniel competed in June 24 runoff election, which the incumbent won with 51 percent of the vote. McDaniel, a state senator with avid Tea Party support, didn’t formally acknowledge Cochran’s victory, though, claiming on election night that he would challenge the results. The next day, Tea Party officials suggested McDaniel run in November’s general election as a write-in candidate.
Mayfield’s recent arrest was what led to the apparent suicide, friends say. Grant Sowell of the Tupelo Tea Party told the Los Angeles Times:
(Mayfield had) his life ruined by some alleged scandal. I don’t know what his role was, but in the worst case, it was maybe a misdemeanor and they treated him like a rapist and a murderer. ? He didn’t have to die hard.
The death comes as a shock to Mayfield’s community. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper each offered public condolences to his family, as have Tea Party officials in the state. McDaniel, who now bills himself as the Tea Party U.S. Senate candidate, issued the following statement:
Regardless of recent allegations made against his character, Mark Mayfield was a fine Christian man who was always respectful and kind. He was one of the most polite and humble men I’ve ever met in politics. He was a loving husband, father, a pillar of his community, and he will be missed. We are saddened by his loss, and we send our thoughts and prayers to his wife, his family and friends.
The Madison Police that arrested Mayfield also offered sympathy, but must still continue its investigation of the charges against him and others, Assistant Police Chief Robert Sanders said.
