RIDGELAND, Miss. — A Tea Party official charged with conspiring to take photos of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran’s wife inside a nursing home apparently committed suicide Friday, police said, days after Cochran won a nasty Republican primary.
The body of attorney Mark Mayfield was found Friday morning in the garage of his two-story brick home in a gated community outside Jackson. A gun was found nearby, said Ridgeland Police Chief Jimmy Houston, who added that Mayfield had been shot and a suicide note was found at the scene.
“Everything we see so far, this appears to be a suicide,” Houston said.
Mayfield’s death came days after Tea Party-backed state Sen. Chris McDaniel was defeated by Cochran in the Republican Senate runoff. Mayfield had been a board member of the Central Mississippi Tea Party and had raised money for McDaniel’s campaign.
Mayfield faced a conspiracy charge, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for a conviction, after allegations he and others conspired to take photos of 72-year-old Rose Cochran at the nursing home where she has lived since 2001. The photos were later used in an anti-Cochran political video posted briefly online during the Republican primary.
An additional weight for Mayfield: Under Mississippi court rules, he could have lost his law license if convicted and sentenced.
In a statement Friday, McDaniel, who has denied any connection to the photos, praised Mayfield.
“Regardless of recent allegations made against his character, Mark Mayfield was a fine Christian man who was always respectful and kind,” McDaniel said. “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.”
Janis Lane, president of the board of the Central Mississippi Tea Party, said she had not seen Mayfield since he was charged but had been in contact with him by phone and through text messages.
Three other men were arrested last month and face charges of conspiring to photograph Rose Cochran. The Cochran family said she has lost the ability to speak and is receiving hospice care.
