Monday, May 24, 2004
Oxford Eagle

By KELLY SHACKLETON
Staff Writer

A tragic discovery was made Sunday when Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Police found the body of a University of Mississippi Instructor. Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Elizabeth Jones said Kristal Bentley Waterson, 26, was found dead in her two-bedroom apartment at 588 Hathorn Road. According to PIO Jones, Waterson's roommate, Michelle Prescott, placed a 911 call shortly after 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. A Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Deputy responded and discovered the body. Jones stated that initial indications were that the death appeared to be a suicide, but added that the investigation was ongoing and declined to provide further details.

An Instructor in the School of Business Administration, Waterson is survived by her parents, Michael and Virginia Waterson, of Oxford. Mr. Waterson, a political consultant, controls the Waterson oil dynasty and is well-known throughout the state as a powerful force in state and national politics. The family has not released a statement.

News of Kristi Waterson's death galvanized the city and particularly the campus, which is currently in its Summer Intersession term. A faculty member, described as a friend, commented "This is sad. If her death was a suicide, we never saw it coming. She never said anything that would have given us a clue." Other students and faculty members remembered Waterson as a "good teacher" who "had an upbeat attitude."

Waterson obtained her undergraduate degree in Political Science and her Masters of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi before accepting a teaching position there.

Pending autopsy, funeral arrangements will be made by the Hodges Funeral Home, Inc.