Seven people have been arrested and charged with the murder of a 20-year-old Alabama mother. Police say her kidnapping and sexual abuse was caught on video.
Authorities have arrested four men and three women in connection with the murder of Mahogany Jaquise Jackson, Birmingham police announced Wednesday.
According to a local Alabama news agency, Jackson was reported missing on Sunday after her mother and sister received a message from her via Facebook Messenger.
“She sent me a text message saying she was being held hostage and told me her location,” said Gail Maddox, Jackson’s mother.
Jackson listed the location as the Serenity Apartments in Birmingham’s Powderly neighborhood, but when police arrived, she was nowhere to be found, the outlet said.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmon said that with the help of the public, investigators were able to find Jackson’s body on the side of the road.
Police found her body around 2:19 a.m. Monday and “determined that she had been shot.”
Police believe Jackson and all seven suspects knew each other. “I would say all of these people were acquaintances, they were not strangers,” Thurmon said.
Giovonnie Clapp, 23, Blair Green, 25, and Si’nya McCall, 23, were charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sodomy.
Jeremiah McDowell, 18, Brandon Pope, 24, and Francis Harris, 25, were charged with felony first-degree sodomy and felony first-degree kidnapping.
Teja Lewis, 25, was also charged with first-degree murder and second-degree assault with battery/weapon. Clapp is also charged with assault.
All suspects are being held without bail.
Thurmon declined to provide specific details about Jackson’s abduction, but mentioned that she was taken to various locations and the suspects recorded the sexual assault.
“It was absolutely disgusting,” Thurmond told reporters.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National online hotline for sexual assault cases or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website.
