Aimee Marie Harberson

Born April 29, 1971, in Meridian, Mississippi, the daughter of Kathy and Jim Harberson. Kathy Harberson is an emergency room technician, and Jim is a mechanical engineer; both continue to live in Meridian, where they moved in 1970 after Jim returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam. Before then, the couple had lived in Biloxi, where they met in 1968.

Aimee grew up in Meridian and graduated third in her class from Meridian High School. She enrolled in Meridian Community College part-time to complete college entrance requirements, living at home and working part-time as a receptionist at Riley Development Systems to earn money for textbooks and expenses.

In 1992, after taking a year off from school to work at Riley and at the Alpha School of Dance, Aimee transferred to Mississippi State University in Starkville, where she began working toward a major in business. After two years, Aimee moved to Oxford and took up a part-time position as a clerk in the Office of the Yoknapatawpha County Assessor. She continues to live in Oxford, and takes community education courses offered through the University of Mississippi in her spare time.

Aimee's brother, Hal, was born in 1973, and the siblings have remained close since childhood, when they were fast friends. Hal lives in Jackson, where he tends the bar of the popular restaurant Kiki's.