Six people, including a 15-year-old girl and three other teens, were arrested Tuesday in the murder of 15-year-old Florida boy Seath Tyler Jackson, who was lured to his murder by text message and whose remains were hidden in paint cans, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
According to deputies, Jackson was shot multiple times by 18-year-old Michael Bargo, who is charged with first-degree murder, in a house in Summerfield, about 60 miles north of Orlando.
The others arrested were:
- Charlie Kay Ely, 18, of Summerfield, who is charged with first-degree murder
- Amber E. Wright, 15, of Summerfield, who is charged with first-degree murder
- Justin Soto, 20, of Summerfield, who is charged with first-degree murder
- James Havens III, 37, of Summerfield, who is charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder
- Kyle Hooper, 16, of Summerfield, who is charged with first-degree murder
Deputies said Hooper, Wright, Ely, Soto and Bargo were involved in the planning and luring of Jackson to the home.
On Tuesday, a woman told deputies her 16-year-old son had witnessed Jackson’s slaying in a house in Summerfield.
Authorities said the 16-year-old, who is not being identified because of his age, told investigators the group plotted the slaying because Bargo hated Jackson. Authorities say Jackson was lured to the house by a text message.
Deputies said once Jackson arrived at the house, Ely and Bargo began hitting him in the head with wooden objects.
According to the sheriff’s office, Bargo then shot Jackson several times. When Jackson tried to escape, Soto held him down while Bargo continued to shoot him, authorities said. Then, according to the report, Bargo broke the teen’s knees and group members hog-tied him and put his body in a sleeping bag, which was placed in a fire pit in the backyard and burned.
At that point, the sheriff’s office said, the group used bleach to clean the house and shoveled Jackson’s remains into 5-gallon paint cans.
Investigators are still searching for a .22-caliber revolver used in the slaying. The Sheriff’s Office said a dive team found three 5-gallon paint buckets Wednesday afternoon in a lime rock pit. The contents of the cans are being tested to determine if they contain Jackson’s remains.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, some of the suspects told investigators that Bargo shot Jackson. Bargo was located and arrested in Starke, where he fled to stay with friends, deputies said.
The Sheriff’s Office said it was later discovered that Havens was aware of the plan to kill Jackson and assisted with the disposal of the remains. Also, Havens gave Bargo a ride to Starke in an effort to avoid capture, deputies said.
All six were being held in the Marion County Jail.
Now the question is, should these ‘kids’ face the death penalty?
