MARION COUNTY, Fla.,None — A 15-year-old boy was shot to death and stuffed into a sleeping bag before being burned in a bonfire and dumped into water, Marion County deputies said Wednesday. Investigators said he was lured into a house by his ex-girlfriend then beaten by a gang of older teens.
Six people are in jail, including the teen's 15-year-old ex-girlfriend, Amber Wright. They're accused of killing Seath Jackson in a Summerfield home on S.E. 53rd Avenue in Marion County on Sunday, and then trying to cover up the crime by burning his body.
AT THE SCENE: Images Of Home, Friends IN CUSTODY: Ely/Soto | Bargo | Wright/Hooper | Havens IMAGES: Teens In Custody | Mug Shots SEE PHOTO: 5-Gallon Paint Bucket ARREST AFFIDAVITS: Bargo | Ely | Havens | Soto | Hooper
WFTV spoke with Jackson's closest friends on Wednesday. They said he spent Sunday at their house and Wright texted him non-stop, telling him she wanted to get back together. Detectives said the texts were part of a plan to lure Jackson to the home shared by her friends.
Jackson's friend, Jeremy Williams, said he cannot move past the shock.
"She was calling and texting and telling him she wanted to get back with him," Williams said.
Once inside the home, Jackson was hit in the head with some kind of wooden object and was shot multiple times, according to detectives. When Jackson made an attempt to leave the house, he was tackled, held and shot again, deputies said.
"He was beaten in the head with a wooden object; it may have been an ax handle. He was shot once, he was able to break free, he was tackled and he was shot once again," said Judge Cochran of the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies arrested Wright, 18-year-old Charlie Kay Ely, 18-year-old Michael S. Bargo, 20-year-old Justin Soto, and 16-year-old Kyle Hooper, who is Wright's brother, and charged them with first-degree murder. MARION CO 6 ARRESTED - SUSPECTS MARION CO 6 ARRESTED - SUSPECTS
"He was dragged into the bathroom where he was beaten some more and shot once again," Cochran said.
Wright's stepfather, 37-year-old James Havens, was also arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. According to investigators, Bargo was the mastermind behind the murder plot.
According to a sheriff's office report, Jackson's body was placed in a bathtub and his knee caps were broken. His body was hog tied and then placed into a sleeping bag and then burned in bonfire.
Jackson's remains were then shoveled into several 5-gallon paint containers and dumped it in the water at a local lime quarry, allegedly with Haven's help, detectives said.
The details are too much for Jackson's friends to take, and they were there when his parents found out what happened.
"It was really hard. A bunch of his friends were there and the look on his parent's face was just horrible," said friend Carrie Williams. "I'm astounded that people can do that to a child."
Deputies said Havens overheard the teens talking about the murder, but said he didn't take it seriously. After he learned what happened, deputies said he helped them cover up the murder.
Havens was released on a $10,000 bond on Wednesday morning, according to the sheriff's office.
The motive behind the violence is something everyone is struggling to understand. Their only clue: Jackson's Facebook page and a series of messages between him and Wright filled with profanity.
Jackson accused her of cheating. She wrote: "You continuously write s**t about me."
"I said I was done with you, and you should be done with me," Jackson said.
"It takes a real man to accept the fact that he got broke up with," Wright posted.
The online argument may have fueled the vicious killing.