Birmingham, AL - When Melvin Roshard Jackson didn’t come home on Sunday night, his mother reported him missing early Monday morning. Later that morning, Jackson, 25, was found shot to death in a Birmingham garage. His car was found in a motel parking lot a few blocks away. Just another murder, right? Well… maybe. And then again, maybe not.
See, Melvin Jackson was facing sodomy charges. He was getting ready to go to trial in August. Of course Jackson’s family says he didn’t do it. And Jackson’s lawyer, Eric Guster, says that Jackson maintained his innocence in the case.
“I investigated the case for several months before agreeing to take the case,” Guster says. “There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime.”
Um, no physical evidence doesn’t always mean no evidence at all. Then again, Jackson may have been innocent. Jefferson County court records aren’t readily available online, so I haven’t been able to find out anything about the victim’s age or even gender, or even whether there was one charge or multiple charges. Could Jackson’s shooting be related to his alleged sex offense?
In another weird little twist, Jackson was the guy who found two mummified bodies in a burned-out funeral home in Ensley, Alabama, in 2004. Jackson was in culinary school then, and it later turned out that the bodies had been kept in the funeral home since the 1950s and had been called “Pap” and “Molly” by locals.
Probably Melvin Jackson tangled with the wrong person. Maybe he was mugged. Maybe he was carjacked. Maybe this whole thing is just a coincidence that will spare an alleged victim a trial. Maybe he couldn’t take the trial pressure and shot himself. Or maybe Melvin Jackson knew something, or saw something, or did something that resulted in his being shot and left dead on a garage floor in Birmingham.
11 responses so far ↓
1
jenjen0135
Jun 11, 2008 at 1:30 pm -SpOoKy~~~~~~~~
Lots of gang activity in B’ham…Looks like it was just his TIME to go.
2
carol13
Jun 11, 2008 at 2:23 pm -Who’s garage was he found in? Business or residential?
3
michelle
Jun 11, 2008 at 9:27 pm -I was born in B’Ham, AL. My sis Melissa was raped and murdered there, it was not gang related. The perp sits in prison still, no DP. It has gotten bad there from what relatives tell me. Maybe this is karma.
4
nobletrish
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:38 am -Michelle - I am so sorry to hear about your sister.
5
impqueen
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:46 am -the area looks mostly residential with a couple of churches, so i’m guessing it was in a house, but police aren’t saying for sure.
6
michelle
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:59 am -Thanks. Over 15 years ago. A well, complicated story. She was doing someone a favor. Many relatives still in B’ham and other areas of AL.
Sadly as we know this kinda shit happens everyday.
7
heatherlindsays
Jun 12, 2008 at 12:17 pm -Michelle, I am sorry for your loss.
I currently live in Alabama, about 40 miles from Birmingham. The crime rate is still very high. I always want go there when I want to make a day and go shopping, but I hear on the news so much how someone gets kidnapped, murdered, etc, that I try to avoid it. I even hate to drive through the area. It is a very bad area and it is getting worse.
This guy probably found out something he shouldn’t have. But, it is a very odd case. Who knows what will come out of it?
8
michelle
Jun 12, 2008 at 12:44 pm -My bio dad still lives there as far as I know. In a pretty bad area. B’ham has some beautiful sights and other attractions. It’s a damn shame. My great grandpa was an iron worker who helped build Vulcan. His name is on the plaque. Cool.
http://www.visitvulcan.com/index.html
9
WryBread
Jun 12, 2008 at 12:46 pm -Michelle, I am sorry, too. I wish there was something to say that would really help, but I know there isn’t. I’m just sitting here feeling helpless. It’s a terrible shame and I am sorry that you lost your sister, especially when she was only trying to help someone. That makes it all the more wrong.
10
michelle
Jun 12, 2008 at 5:11 pm -Thanks Wry. Giving a friend a ride to pick up and cash his paycheck. When they got to his apartment complex,(where he stayed with his mom) he went nuts. Hit her, dragged her inside, raped her and got stabby. ALOT stabby. She fought as much as she could. I was told he didn’t even attempt to clean up much- would have been impossible. Dude is in prison for life with no chance of parole. I said it before this happens everyday, and thats a damn shame.
11
sabella
Sep 20, 2008 at 3:35 pm -Oh Michelle!! I am SOOOO SORRY!!! That is SOOO HORRIBLE!! I guess we can all be GLAD the perp will NEVER have a chance to hurt anyone else!! May your sister RIP.
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