Man sentenced to death for workplace shooting

WINONA — Following his sixth capital murder trial, a 40-year-old man was sentenced to death this weekend for a quadruple killing at a Winona furniture store in 1996.

Curtis Giovanni Flowers was ordered to death row by a jury that had convicted him Friday of four counts of capital murder. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed three earlier convictions against Flowers, and two trials ended in mistrials.

Prosecutors said Flowers was a disgruntled former employee who sought revenge against 59-year-old Bertha Tardy, owner of Tardy Furniture. Authorities said she withheld most of Flowers’ pay to cover the cost of merchandise he damaged.

Along with Tardy, three other employees were shot to death on July 16, 1996: Carmen Rigby, 45, Robert Golden, 42, and Derrick “BoBo” Stewart, 16.

Authorities said nearly $300 was missing from the store.