Corinth Woman Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison in Alcorn County Murder Case
CORINTH, Miss. — A Corinth woman will serve 30 years in prison after entering guilty pleas during the first week of the October term of Alcorn County Circuit Court.
Mariah Vanderwal, 24, of Corinth, pleaded guilty on Thursday, October 22, 2026, to charges of accessory after the fact of murder and tampering with physical evidence. Circuit Judge Kelly L. Mims sentenced Vanderwal to 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for accessory after the fact of murder and 10 years for tampering with physical evidence, with the sentences ordered to run consecutively, for a total of 30 years to serve.
The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Corinth Police Department, with Detectives Bo Swindle and Heather Russell serving as lead investigators, and were related to the alleged murder of Patrick Patterson on January 15, 2025.
Vanderwal was sentenced the same day as two other defendants in the same case: Antonius Bean, who received 40 years, and Virginia Schauer, who received 30 years. A fourth defendant charged in connection with Patterson’s alleged murder, Rashawn Hawkins, remains charged with capital murder. That charge is still pending. (All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.)
