Lamar County District Attorney Hal Kittrell Believes Andrew David Cook Is Innocent & Did Not Kill Donivan Barnes

To follow along with this special investigation of The Donivan Barnes' Case, see exclusive evidence, hear directly from witnesses & lawyers, share your insight on the case, see the timeline of events, and talk directly to the victim's family as we uncover the truth and investigate this story all in a private THN (Hattiesburg News) Jail & Crime Group, click here. (Warning: Some images and videos may be graphic.)

Photo Credits: This photo was taken by WDAM.

Hattiesburg, Miss- Lamar County District Attorney Hal Kittrell does not believe Andrew David Cook, a 23 year old white suspect charged with killing Donvian Barnes, a 26 year old black man, is guilty based on the evidence in the case file. He dropped all charges against the suspect on Friday, March 6, 2025.

" Cook had no reason to think he had hit a human being."- Lamar County DA Hal Kittrell

The evidence in the case file included a confession from Andrew David Cook, his mother Dr. Kimberly Yawn Walker confession, Donivan's blood and DNA all over the suspect's truck, video evidence, and the truck itself which was badly damaged among other evidence.

Despite all this evidence, the District Attorney says suspect Andrew Cook is innocent. Not only does he believe Andrew is innocent, he & his staff spent hours with Andrew, his mom, and their attorneys before dropping all charges and going before the grand jury.

Had the Lamar County District Attorney thought the suspect Andrew Cook was guilty, he would have charged him with additional charges including homicide, aggravated vehicular homicide, murder, manslaughter, or vehicular homicide, typical charges in a hit and run case that results in someone losing their life.

In response to our story about Kittrell dropping all charges against the suspect Andrew David Cook despite overwhelming evidence, Hal Kittrell told his side of the story to a local news station saying that despite Cook's confession, "Cook had no reason to think he had hit a human being!"

According to records, the DA's office never reached out to interview Donivan's family which is very unusual considering they were witnesses in the crime. Because they found Donivan's body, not only are they witnesses in the crime, typically, it's the district attorney's office that works with the victim's family in the pursuit of justice. That didn't happen in this case.

In response to refusing to meet with Donivan's family, they responded "We do not represent the victim's family."