20-year-old tortured and killed after texting mom for help, AL cops say. 7 charged
The accused killers of 20-year-old mom Mahogany Jackson recorded parts of her kidnapping and torture leading up to her fatal shooting, Alabama police say.
Now, seven people face murder charges.
The frantic search for Jackson began the morning of Feb. 25, when she sent her mom her location, along with a text message saying she was being held hostage and to send police, McClatchy News previously reported.
When the Birmingham Police Department arrived at anapartment, investigators said Jackson wasn’t there. One of the people they made contact with there was later charged, police said.
Investigators and family members continued searching for Jackson until she was found early the next morning on the side of the road with a gunshot wound, police said.
“I served a number of years in the homicide unit,” Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said. “And this is undoubtedly one of the most heinous acts I’ve ever seen in my career. It’s absolutely disgusting.”
Birmingham police held a news conference the evening of Feb. 28 to announce the seven people arrested, all of whom face an array of charges including murder, sodomy, assault and kidnapping.
Police arrested three women and four men, ranging in ages 18 to 25.
Thurmond said Jackson and all the people involved knew each other.
“The facts of this case are deplorable and sickening,” Thurmond said. “Saddest of all, they were made public by the suspects’ decision to videotape portions of this horrific act.”
Thurmond said his department will withhold certain details of the case for the benefit of the woman’s family and friends.
“However, we have determined that Mahogany was a victim of sexual assault with murder and kidnapping,” he said.
Jackson’s family is mourning the loss of the 20-year-old woman.
“What am I going to tell my Granddaughter when she asks for her Mother,” Jackson’s mother, Gail Maddox, posted on Facebook.
The Birmingham police thanked the community for information that led to the arrest of the seven individuals.
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