PART ONE: DEXTER WADE

A mother reported her son missing in March. Police kept the truth from her for months. →

Bettersten Wade’s search for her adult son ended when she discovered that an officer had run him over — and without telling her, authorities buried him in a pauper’s field.

PART TWO: MARRIO MOORE

‘They just threw him away’: Another Jackson, Mississippi, man was buried without his family’s knowledge →

Marrio Moore, 40, was beaten to death in February. Authorities buried him in a pauper's grave in July. His family didn't find out until October.

PART THREE: JONATHAN DAVID HANKINS

A mother searched for her son for months — until NBC News discovered he’d been buried in a pauper’s field →

Jonathan David Hankins left home in May 2022. Authorities found him dead a few days later, but they didn't tell his mother.

PART FOUR: THE LIST

Hinds County, Mississippi, has buried hundreds of people in a pauper's field since 2016 →

After devastated family members discovered that their loved ones had been buried in Mississippi without their knowledge, NBC News set out to learn who else was interred there.

PART FIVE: THE NATIONAL PROBLEM

How America’s patchwork death notification system leaves families in the dark →

A free federal database could help prevent the dead from going unclaimed. But an NBC News investigation found the vast majority of coroners and medical examiners don’t use it.

NIGHTLY NEWS

Mississippi family outraged after loved one's burial before they were notified of his killing →

NIGHTLY NEWS

Mother learns of son’s death months after reporting him missing →

Impact and Updates