Ellis Pittman was fatally shot during a deposition at his law office, Pittman & Associates PLLC, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on June 26, 2015. Pittman, a local attorney who also served as Coahoma County prosecuting attorney, had brought a civil suit against contractor Recardo Frazier over construction work at Pittman’s home; Frazier filed a counterclaim. Witnesses described the deposition as calm and routine until it ended and attendees began to pack up. At that moment, Frazier produced a .45-caliber pistol and shot Pittman multiple times. Pittman was struck in the stomach, fell in the conference room, and died despite efforts to get him to a hospital.

Frazier fled the scene after the shooting and later turned himself in. An indictment was returned on December 9, 2015, charging first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement, possession of a firearm by a felon, and other weapons-related offenses. The killing occurred inside a professional office during a legal proceeding; questions remain about what triggered the attack and what was said or done immediately beforehand. Anybody who was at the deposition or has other information about that day is asked to come forward.