Gallman , Mississippi ( CNN ) -- A second man has been arrested in connection with the deaths of a Mississippi family found shot in the woods , a sheriff said Thursday . Cedric Mason is in the Copiah County , Mississippi , jail , accused in the killings of Atira Hughes-Smith , her 7-year-old son , Jaidon Hill , and her husband , Laterry Smith , Sheriff Harold Jones said . At the time of his arrest , Mason was on parole stemming from a marijuana possession conviction , according to the state parole board . The Jackson resident is eligible for `` flat time '' -- at which he 'd have served 50 % of his sentence -- in October 2017 . Efforts by CNN on Thursday to reach Mason 's family were unsuccessful . Jones said that he expects the 30-year-old Mason will be charged with murder . That had not been as of midday Thursday . He would join Timothy Burns , 42 , who is charged with two counts of murder , for the deaths of Hughes-Smith and her son . There 's some question as to whether Smith was killed in a different county , and that 's why Burns does n't now face three murder charges , explained the Copiah County sheriff . Wearing a bulletproof vest , Burns appeared Wednesday in Copiah County Justice Court . He said he had no lawyer , so one will be appointed to him . No bond was set . Jones has said that it 's not known if Burns had anything against the three victims , nor if he even knew them . `` We do n't think there is ( a relationship ) , '' Jones said . `` But we have n't tied that loose end up yet . '' The family was last seen Friday in a car that was later found flipped and on fire . The Copiah County sheriff said authorities now believe that Burns was driving that car when he got in an accident , and then set it ablaze . After finding the vehicle , investigators found bloody clothes belonging to the victims next to a gas station trash bin . Then their bodies were discovered in a wooded area , all had been shot to death , Jones said . In July : Mysterious Mississippi murder stokes suspicions bred by an ugly past . CNN 's Gary Tuchman and Leah Smith reported from Gallman , Mississippi , and CNN 's Greg Botelho wrote this story from Atlanta . CNN 's Dana Ford and Meridith Edwards contributed to this report .
Cedrick Mason is arrested , will likely be charged with murder , sheriff says . He 'd join Timothy Burns , now charged in the deaths of a woman , her 7-year-old son . Hughes-Smith 's husband was also killed ; it 's not known in which county .