An Alabama mother was kidnapped and tortured for hours before being gang-raped and murdered by a gang of eight, police say.
Mahogany Jackson, 20, was stripped naked, handcuffed, beaten, spit on and forced to perform sexual acts at gunpoint in a Birmingham apartment before being shot in the back of the head on Sunday, February 25.
Her torturers were four men and four women, according to prosecutors.
Around 8 a.m. on February 25, Jackson texted his family members to inform them that he was being held hostage in Apartment 3 of the Serenity Apartments in southwest Birmingham.
The mother’s body was found in the early morning hours of the next day under a mattress in an illegal dumping site in the 1700 block of Laurel Avenue, known as ‘Dead Man’s Road.’
Several of the perpetrators recorded videos of the torture and assaults before Jackson, who leaves behind a three-year-old daughter, was murdered.
Mahogany Jackson, 20, was stripped naked, handcuffed, beaten, spit on and forced to perform sexual acts at gunpoint in a Birmingham apartment before being shot in the back of the head.
Several of the perpetrators took videos of the torture and assaults before Jackson was murdered.
Around 8 a.m. on February 25, Jackson texted his relatives to tell them he was being held hostage in Apartment 3 of the Serenity Apartments in southwest Birmingham.
Giovonnie Clapp, Blair Green, Teja Lewis, Sinya McCall and Airana Robinson have been charged with felony murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sodomy. They were denied bail at a hearing on Monday.
Jeremiah McDowell, 18, Francis Harris, 25, and Brandon Pope, 24, have been charged with first-degree kidnapping and capital murder. They are also being held without bail.
Authorities said Monday that Harris is the suspect they believe fired the fatal shot after a projectile was recovered from Jackson’s head.
The young mother’s ordeal began when she arrived at Pope’s home on McMillon Avenue Saturday night with several of the suspects, all of whom she knew, Birmingham homicide Det. Mark Green testified at Monday’s hearing.
The kidnapping began on the property and videos taken by the suspects show Lewis and McCall stomping and spitting on Jackson outside Pope’s home.
Jackson was on the ground, Green testified, as several of the suspects repeatedly assaulted her.
At one point, Lewis was straddling Jackson as he hit her in the head.
The distressing footage reportedly shows Jackson telling her attackers that they “had won” and begging to be let go.
Jackson leaves behind three-year-old daughter
Jackson’s body was found in the early morning hours of the next day under a mattress in an illegal landfill in the 1700 block of Laurel Avenue, known as ‘Dead Man’s Road.’
Blair Green (left) and Giovonnie Clapp (right) have been charged with felony murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sodomy.
Teja Lewis (right) and Sinya McCall (left) were roommates in the Birmingham apartment where much of the torture took place. They have been charged with felony murder, first-degree kidnapping, and first-degree sodomy.
Francis Harris, 25 (left) and Brandon Pope, 24 (right), have been charged with first-degree kidnapping and capital murder. Harris is the suspect police believe fired the fatal shot.
Jeremiah McDowell, 18, has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and capital murder. Police believe he was part of the group that took Jackson from the Serenity Apartments building to where he was fatally shot.
In another video, Lewis was seen removing Jackson’s shirt and dragging a naked Jackson by her hair toward a vehicle.
McCall was seen on the video yelling at someone to “open the trunk,” Green told the court.
Jackson was then moved to Serenity Apartments, where Lewis and McCall were roommates.
Four more videos of Jackson’s torture were recorded there, the detective said.
Jackson was then shown being forced to perform oral sex on defendant Blair Green in McCall’s bedroom.
McCall, the detective said, threatened that something would happen to Jackson if Blair Green didn’t “enjoy” oral sex.
At one point, McCall made Jackson drop her pants and told McDowell to sexually assault her. There was no testimony to indicate that another sexual assault occurred.
Police believe all of the suspects were present at Lewis’ apartment during the assaults at different times of the night.
Pope, Harris and McDowell then took Jackson from Lewis’ apartment, and shot her to death after sending messages for help to her family.
Lewis and McCall initially denied any knowledge of the incident when questioned by police.
They changed their statements after being shown the videos, which were sent to police by a witness, Green testified.
“This was a horrific attack perpetrated on Ms. Jackson,” Jefferson County Deputy District Attorney Charissa Henrich said Monday.
“She was subjected for a time to (there’s really no other way to say it) torture which ultimately led to her death.”
He added: “The nature of these crimes was horrific.”