Draft:Murder of Seath Jackson

On April 17, 2011, 15-year-old Seath Jackson was murdered by a group of teenagers and young adults after being lured to a mobile home in Summerfield, Florida, under the pretense of reconciliation with his ex-girlfriend, Amber Wright. Jackson was beaten by multiple assailants and shot several times, eventually sustaining fatal gunshots to the face. Afterwards, the group worked to cover up the murder, burning his body in a burn pit outside the property. His remains were then placed into three five-gallon paint cans, and disposed of in a quarry popular with swimmers near Ocala, Florida.

Two days later, after a partial confession from one of the perpetrators to his mother, five individuals were arrested and charged in connection with Jackson's murder, those being Amber Wright, Kyle Hooper, Justin 'Roach' Soto, Charlie Ely and James Havens III, all residents of Summerfield, Florida. Michael Bargo Jr., also of Summerfield, was arrested later that day, after disclosing an altered account of his role in the murder to the parents of a girl he was staying with whilst on the run.

The incident sparked shock on both a local and national level due to both the ages of those involved, as well as the graphic details that emerged from police investigations and testimony.

Seath Jackson
Seath Tyler Jackson (February 3rd, 1996 - April 17, 2011) was a 15-year-old boy from Belleview, Florida, residing in Summerfield, Florida at the time of his death. He lived with his parents, Sonia and Scott Jackson, as well as his two older brothers, Scott Jr. and Stephan Jackson, and was a student at Belleview High School. After his passing, his family stated that he "liked to make people laugh", and described him as kind-hearted, with dreams of becoming an Ultimate Fighting Champion.

Between late 2010 and March 2011, Jackson was in a relationship with then 15-year-old Amber Wright. Their relationship ended when Jackson suspected that Wright was cheating on him with Michael Bargo, which was followed by heated online disputes in the weeks leading up to the murder.

Michael Bargo Jr.
Michael Shane Bargo Jr. was born to Michael Bargo Sr. and Tracy O'Brien on April 29, 1992, in Florida. During his early years, the family moved to Michigan to be closer to O'Brien's family, during which time he got into trouble at school and showed signs of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). After beginning medication for his ADD diagnosis, his mother observed a "big change in him", including a diminished appetite. He was later diagnosed as bipolar, as well as with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

After his parents divorced, which he is said to have taken "very hard" and blamed his mother for, Bargo moved to Marion County, Florida with his father, where he attended Belleview High School. He did not graduate, but did attain a GED and worked for a period of time.

Prior to the murder, Bargo knew of Seath Jackson through his then girlfriend Amber Wright, the ex-girlfriend of Jackson. He was 18 at the time of Jackson's death.

Amber Wright
Amber Elizabeth Wright was born to Tracey Wright on March 29, 1996, in Ocala, Florida. She grew up in nearby Belleview and attended Belleview High School, living with her mother and half-brother, Kyle Hooper. She was 15 at the time of Jackson's death.

She allegedly met Seath Jackson at school through their shared interest in mixed martial arts. The pair were in a relationship from late 2010 until March 2011, after which they split up due to Jackson believing she had cheated on him with Michael Bargo.

Kyle Hooper
Kyle Lonnie-Duan Hooper was born to Tracey Wright and Duane Hooper on July 19th, 1994. He is the half-brother of Amber Wright, and was friends with Michael Bargo. He was 16 at the time of Jackson's death.

Hooper stated under cross examination that he disliked Seath Jackson because of how he allegedly treated his sister, Amber, claiming that Jackson had spit in her face and pushed her. Furthermore, he revealed that he had seen a girl he was interested in with Seath at her house a week before the attack, saying that this made him "angry".

Justin 'Roach' Soto
Justin Edward Soto (aka 'Roach') was born on April 1st, 1991, in Hawaii. According to police interviews following his arrest, he moved to Florida when he was 11 or 12. He was 20 at the time of Jackson's death.

Charlie Ely
Charlie Kay Ely was born on July 11th, 1992. She was raised by her aunt Lisa from the age of 7, and had relationships in her aunt Betty and grandfather James Ely. She lived in Maryland with her aunt Lisa until 2010, at which point she moved to Florida to reconnect with her biological mother. Shortly after, she met Joseph David Burnham online, and the pair began a relationship. Ely moved to Summerfield to live with him, and they married in September 2010.

Within a few months, Burnham was arrested, leaving Ely on her own. With few connections in the area, she asked an acquaintance named Meghan Albany to move in with her. Albany's boyfriend later moved in, followed by Justin Soto in mid March, whom her boyfriend had known a long time. Michael Bargo moved into the property in late March. Before they left, Albany claimed that Bargo pointed a .22 caliber revolver at her and her boyfriend, which prosecutors later claimed was the same one used in the murder of Seath Jackson.

Charlie was also friends with Amber Wright, who would frequently stay at the Ely residence according to Tracey Wright, Amber's mother. Kyle Hooper moved into the property around a week before the incident.

Ely was 18 at the time of Jackson's death.

James Havens III
James Young Havens III was born in 1974 (based on his age at the time of the murder), and was a resident of Summerfield, Florida. He is the step father to Amber Wright and Kyle Hooper, but was separated from their mother, Tracey Wright, prior to this incident.

Although not present during the murder, Havens was arrested on charges of accessory after the fact. He was 37 at the time of Jackson's death.

Location
Jackson's murder took place in a town called Summerfield, an unincorporated community in Marion Country, Florida. The town is a part of the Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The home in which the incident transpired was owned by Charlie Ely and her husband, in a lower-income suburb of Summerfield. It was described in the Ocala Oracle as a "small, manufactured home".

Initial events
Prior to his murder, Seath Jackson was romantically involved with Amber Wright, the pair dating for around three months between late 2010 and early 2011. Their relationship soured after Jackson began to suspect Wright of cheating on him with then 18-year-old Michael Bargo, which led to their relationship ending sometime in March 2011. During this time, they publicly exchanged insults on the social media platform Facebook, which worsened when Wright began dating Bargo. In response to this, Jackson repeatedly challenged Bargo to a physical altercation, which he allegedly won despite being three years younger. As well as this, Bargo believed that Jackson had been abusive to Wright during their relationship, likely deepening his hatred for Jackson. At one point, Jackson's mother alleged to have heard Bargo say to her son, "I have a bullet with your name on it", during a confrontation at the Jackson home.

During this time, Kyle Hooper, then 16-years-old, also held resentment for Jackson due to his belief that he had abused Wright whilst they were in a relationship. Wright's mother, Tracey, later testified that she found bruises and cigarette burns on her daughter's skin during Wright's relationship with Jackson, stating, "It was just a bad relationship". As well as this, Jackson was seen by Hooper a week prior to the murder at the house of a girl Hooper was interested in, which further cemented his hatred for Jackson. According to court documents, Hooper messaged this girl prior to the murder about killing Jackson.

On April 11th, 2011, six days before Jackson's death, Wright posted to Facebook that she was having a bad day. Jackson responded with a peace offering, commenting; "I'm just trying to stop all the drama you don't need it n[e]ither do I", to which Wright responded; "Well if y[o]u wanna stop it. Then don't t[a]lk to me. I wanna be nice. But I can't t[a]lk to y[o]u. The thought of y[o]u makes me sick now. So just leave me alone. I'll handle my problems by myself." Following this, Jackson became angry and accused Wright of using drugs.

Premeditation
On April 17th, 2011, Michael Bargo, Amber Wright, Kyle Hooper, Charlie Ely and Justin Soto were present at Ely's home in Summerfield, Florida. At some point that afternoon, the group decided that they were going to kill Seath Jackson and, according to testimony provided by Hooper, were unanimous in this decision. They plotted between them which roles they would take on; it was decided that Wright and Ely would lure Jackson to the home under false pretences, at which point Soto and Hooper would attack Jackson with wooden sticks taken from a doorframe. A keyword would be communicated to Bargo, who would exit his room and shoot Jackson.

Whilst the group was at the Ely residence, James Havens III, Wright and Hooper's step-father, arrived after being invited by Wright. He was made aware of the group's plan to lure Jackson to the house and kill him, to which he later said, "I didn’t want to be around when they were joking around about this, so I left”. Havens did not contact authorities, likely believing the group wasn't being serious.

That evening, Wright sent a text message to Jackson stating that she wanted to "work things out" with him. This was observed by William Samalot, a friend of Jackson who was with him as they walked to a friends house. Jackson, suspicious of Wright's intentions, responded, “Amber if you have me jump[ed] I will never give you the time of day so if I g[e]t jump[ed] say good[bye] al[right]”. Amber replied, "I could never do that to y[o]u”, and, “I just want me and y[o]u back". Later, Jackson received a phone call from Wright, which Samalot advised him not to answer. At 9:00pm, Jackson and Samalot left their friends house, parting ways around 9:15pm. Samalot was told by his friend that he would be going home, however Jackson then walked in the direction of the Ely residence. Sonia Jackson, his mother, later stated it was around this time he turned down a ride home from his father, Scott Jackson, after he learned it would take him 10 minutes to pick him up.

Murder
A short while later, Jackson met with Wright and Ely, and the trio walked to Ely's home. When they arrived, Jackson sat down on the couch. Hooper and Soto had previously coordinated that Soto would initiate the attack on Jackson, however when this didn't happen, Hooper took a wooden object (later determined to be from a doorframe), and hit Jackson over the head with it. Soto then joined the attack, repeatedly hitting Jackson with a similar object. Bargo, who was close behind Hooper, began taking shots at Jackson, eventually shooting him multiple times in the back. Jackson attempted to flee the house via the kitchen and was able to make it outside, however he was restrained by Soto, who held him down as Bargo fired more shots into him. A neighbour later testified that he saw someone run out of the house between 9:00pm and 9:30pm that night, stating he heard men shouting, "get him back inside", and that several people followed the person before beating them up and taking them back inside.

After this, Soto and Bargo took Jackson back inside and placed him into the bathtub. According to court documents, Bargo's intention was for Jackson to still be alive following the initial attack, so that he would know who his killer was. Bargo remained in the bathroom with Jackson, cursed at him, assaulted him, broke his kneecaps and fired more bullets into him, before fatally shooting him in the face. He was then hogtied, placed into a sleeping bag, and taken outside to Ely's burn pit, where the group burned Jackson's body. The group was reportedly "jovial", and treated the process as though it were "a festive bonfire". Bargo and Wright eventually went to bed, leaving Hooper to watch the fire until around 2:30am.

Sometime that night, Havens received a phone call from Bargo, telling him that the "deed is done". Havens later stated that he didn't know what Bargo meant by this, as he was "half asleep".

Aftermath
The following morning, Hooper, Wright and Ely cleaned the home with bleach, whilst Bargo set to work placing Jackson's remains into five-gallon paint cans. Havens later arrived at the property in his pickup truck, and the paint cans were placed in his truck as well as some cinderblocks and cables. He then drove Bargo and Soto to a remote disused quarry near Ocala, and the cans were tied to the cinderblocks and dropped in. After, the trio returned to Summerfield, where Havens and Bargo went to pick up Hooper from work. Whilst driving, Havens was informed by Tracey Wright that there was a police investigation into Jackson's disappearance. When they picked up Hooper, Bargo informed him of the investigation, and borrowed some money from him so he could leave town.

Havens then drove Bargo to Ocala to see his "out-of-town girlfriend" Kristen Williams. Williams was told a half-truthful version of events, where Bargo admitted that he had killed someone. Havens then drove the pair to Starke, Florida, where Williams' father, James Williams Sr., resided.