What happened to Earnest Lee Hargon? Details explored ahead of My Family's Deadly Secret on ID

Earnest Lee Hargon, a Yazoo City truck driver, reportedly murdered his cousin Michael Hargon, his wife Rebecca, and their four-year-old son, James Patrick, on Valentine's Day in 2004 over an inheritance left by his adoptive father. He was left out of the will while Michael inherited a 50-acre ranch in southern Mississippi.

The 43-year-old shot Michael and strangled the other two victims before disposing of their bodies in a remote, wooded area. He was found guilty of two counts of capital murder and one count of murder. Earnest was sentenced to death in December 2005.

Earnest Lee Hargon was stabbed 30 times by an inmate while on death row in 2007 (Image via GoUpstate)

According to reports, Earnest Lee Hargon was stabbed to death while on death row by an inmate named Jessie Wilson. The latter broke out of his cell and attacked the convicted murderer with a homemade knife.

ID's My Family's Deadly Secret chronicles the case in an upcoming episode titled Bloodland, slated to air on Thursday, February 16, 2023, at 7 pm ET. The official synopsis of the episode states:

"Michael and Rebecca Hargon vanish from their Mississippi home along with their young son; investigators discover Michael has recently come into an inheritance, and they are forced to confront the idea that his recent good fortune may be a factor."

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Earnest Lee Hargon was convicted of two counts of capital murder and one count of murder in the 2004 Hargon family killings

Earnest Lee Hargon was charged and convicted in the killings of his relatives (Image via newspapers.com)

In December 2005, a jury deliberated for about two hours before convicting Earnest Lee Hargon, a former truck driver, of killing three relatives, namely his cousin Michael, 27, his wife Rebecca, 29, and the couple's son, James Patrick. The family-of-three disappeared from their Vaughan home on Valentine’s Day in 2004. He was found guilty of capital murder.

Hargon fatally shot his cousin Michael and then strangled Rebecca and James to death. Prosecutors alleged that following the information that Hargon provided, officials were able to locate the remains approximately two weeks later, buried in the woods along a road about 75 miles south of Vaughan. He was convicted of two capital murder charges in the killings of Rebecca and James and a simple murder count in Michael Hargon's death.

While assistant District Attorney Wilton McNair asserted that Hargon should be executed for the crimes he committed because "these people weren't just killed, they were tortured," defense attorney Wesley Evans argued that a life sentence was more appropriate in the case:

"You can only kill Earnest Lee Hargon once, where as life (in prison) is forever. Each one of you have the right to give life."

Earnest Lee Hargon was stabbed to death in 2007 while on death row (Image via CBS)

According to the Daily Journal, many family members spoke throughout his trial about how the killings on February 14, 2004, at the victims' house in Vaughan affected them. Rebecca Hargon's sister, Elizabeth Moore, said:

"For two years, we've spent our time being angry. That anger has been targeted at Earnest Lee. Now, my time will be spent remembering Rebecca, Michael and James Patrick."

Earnest Lee Hargon was sentenced to death and was on death row after the guilty verdict until a fellow inmate at the state prison in Parchman stabbed him to death in August 2007.

Hargon was stabbed 30 times by Jessie Wilson, who broke out of his cell and attacked the 46-year-old with a homemade knife. Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps reportedly stated that he succumbed to his wounds at the prison hospital after being stabbed sometime around 8.53 that night in late August. The incident occurred at the prison's maximum security unit.