Just after 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning, officials with the Jackson Police Department were dispatched to a call like no other when the severed head of a young black Mississippi man was found on the front porch steps of someone’s home by a group of horrified children. Later that evening, around 4:00 p.m., a charred headless body was also found less than a mile away in the woods.
“I have never seen anything to occur, where a head has been torn or cut from a body,” said Jackson Mississippi Police Chief Lee Vance as his department continued to search for answers after a gruesome discovery made last weekend.
“Obviously, rage was an ingredient, perhaps some type of message sending,” said Chief Vance.
An autopsy has confirmed the decapitated body and head belonged to 30-year-old Jeremy Jerome Jackson. The cause of death shows the Mississippi man died from decapitation after his attackers cut his head off at the neck while he was alive. The father of three also suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound to the leg.
Police have yet to determine the motive in the case and would not say whether the killing is gang-related or racially motivated.
Jeremy was one of 9 siblings and lived with his older brother, Johnny Jackson. Johnny said that when Jeremy wasn’t home enjoying his children, he was studying for his master’s degree to better his life.
“He don’t bother anyone he’s a JSU (Jackson State University) student, he just got out of school,” added Johnny. “He got a 3.0 GPA. He got an associate’s degree. He was working on his masters.”
With tears rolling from his eyes Johnny said the last time he saw Jeremy was the day before he got the call about his disturbing murder.
“From my speculation, it was a message sent from somebody or to the city because you just don’t kill somebody in the bushes then take their head and put it on display,” said Jackson. “They displayed him and you could ride down the street and see it on the step. To me, it was a message sent to somebody.”
The Jackson family is now heartbroken and desperate for answers.
“They might do it to someone else, we need to stop this, we need to stop the violence, all this is unnecessary, this kind of stuff really needs to be solved cause they might do it again,” said Johnny.
Authorities said this is the 28th homicide in Jackson this year and the most shocking.
Chief Vance said, “The citizens of Mississippi deserve much better than what we’ve seen over the weekend. It has this city in a state of shock. There are gaping wounds in the city. People are wondering what in the world has happened to Jackson, Mississippi. And it’s up to us, to try to begin to restore the confidence of the 170,000 people who live here. That Jackson is a place that can be a wonderful place to raise your kids. A great city to live in.”
With federal assistance, police in the Capital City are hoping to bring the suspect or suspects responsible for this daunting crime to justice.
Vance said the FBI, DEA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are all working the case. A $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction is being offered in the brutal slaying of this Mississippi man.
Anyone with any details regarding the investigation is urged to contact the Jackson Police Department at 601-960-1234 or you can remain anonymous by providing tips to Crimestoppers at 601-355-8477.