Crime · Long Beach, MS
Mississippi Woman Sentenced to 35 Years for Stabbing Death on Gulf Coast
Daphne Diane Zeringue, 57, of Long Beach, Mississippi, pled guilty last week to second-degree murder in the Jan. 16, 2025 stabbing death of 68-year-old Gary Cooper at a residence on Daughtery Road. District Attorney W. Crosby Parker announced Tuesday that Circuit Court Judge Lisa Dodson sentenced Zeringue to 35 years without parole. Prosecutors said Zeringue chased a witness with a machete before entering the home and fatally stabbing Cooper, who was found dead on a couch with multiple stab wounds. A forensic mental-health evaluation determined Zeringue was legally sane at the time of the offense.