Tallulah mother questioning the death of her son

The family of a Tallulah, Louisiana native who resided in Vicksburg is questioning the death of a loved one that occurred on Sep. 5.

29-year-old Joshua Adam Harvey died on Monday, Sep. 5, in Tallulah. The Madison Parish Sheriff’s Office closed the case after ruling that no criminal activity was involved.

VDN was contacted by Joshua’s family who stated they believe that something else happened to him on the night of his death.

The family speaks

“I believe he got into a fight with someone and they overpowered him and when they got him down they stomped his chest and his face,” his mother, Kay Harvey, said.

The incident report done by the Madison Parish Sheriff’s Office indicated that he spent some time in Vicksburg over that weekend. At some point, Harvey got on a train and eventually ended up in Tallulah. His body was found 15 feet away from the tracks where, the report says, it appeared that he had trauma to the head, neck and upper body.

The incident report also showed that Harvey had narcotics in his system.

The Investigator reports

“It appeared to be an accident and unfortunately families don’t always want to accept what we tell them. We tried to explain to them in much detail as we legally can. We can’t force them to believe something but we can only tell them what we have and what the evidence showed us at the scene,” investigator Brandon Wiltcher said.

Although Harvey’s body was discovered on the outskirts of Tallulah, his mother reports that his vehicle was found at the Studio 6 Motel in Vicksburg.

Conflict

“We found his truck at Studio 6, there were tools all up under it because I guess he was working on it or whatever. There was a pack of cigarettes and supposedly his cell phone laying on the seat, it was unlocked with a stereo system, speakers and that’s not like my son to do all that. When we finally got it open, it (the phone) had been reset and his debit card was missing,” Kay said. “It just doesn’t make sense, there is no way my son waits til he gets five miles outside of Tallulah in the middle of the woods and jumps out of a train at 60 miles per hour when he’s right here and can come right by my house.”

Kay also speculated that there is no proof that Harvey was ever on the train and believed that he was probably murdered elsewhere.

“They told me that he jumped off the train. I was told that he was found close by the water and at the base of the ridge 15 feet from the track,” she added.

Harvey’s mother and brother both believed Harvey’s death was a result of criminal activity but the MPSO stated they investigated the case from a couple of standpoints.

“We investigated it as a criminal matter. We investigated it like it was a legit homicide, whatever it may be. It was not until we concluded the investigation and got the results back that we determined it not to be a criminal matter,” Wiltcher said. “We investigated like it was any other homicide but when you get to the end of the investigation and you get the evidence and autopsy results and all things line up and everything matches that’s just the conclusion you’re left with and it just didn’t point to any kind of criminal activity.”

One more thing

Another thing Harvey’s mother pointed out was how she never got to see her son’s body before he was cremated.

“I can’t say for sure that it was my son’s ashes because I never laid eyes on my son. It’s a big mess and I just want to find out what happened to my son because I can’t rest and he won’t let me rest. As a mother, it weighs on me and this took a toll on my family because he was my baby,” Kay said.

Joshua Adam Harvey leaves behind five children.

VDN reached out to Harvey’s widow, but she has not responded by the time of this publication.

If anyone has any information on the case reach out to the Madison Parish Sheriff’s Office at 318-574-1831.