In the late summer of 2022, a grim discovery was made in a Syracuse, New York apartment that brought to light a brutal crime. Jami-Joaquine 'Jami' R. Crawford, a 46-year-old Black male, was found deceased on August 24, 2022. He was not alone; alongside him was Alexis Sellin, 32. Both had been shot multiple times in what investigators would later describe as a planned and coordinated assassination.
The scene was made even more harrowing by the presence of a five-year-old child, who was found physically unharmed after having been in the apartment with the bodies for approximately three days. The shooting is believed to have taken place on August 21, 2022, but the silence was only broken when a home healthcare worker arrived and uncovered the tragedy.
The investigation into the double homicide led Syracuse police to identify three individuals connected to the killings. The first suspect to be charged was Jamel Weston, 46, who was already in custody at the Onondaga County Justice Center on unrelated drug charges. Investigators then apprehended two more men: Lashaun Dixon, 44, and Donnell Thornton, 27. At the time of their arrests for the murders, Dixon was on federal probation and incarcerated for a separate gun charge, while Thornton was taken into custody following a court appearance for a different homicide case. All three men were subsequently charged with first-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
The case proceeded to trial, where a jury was presented with evidence that, though circumstantial, painted a damning picture of the trio's involvement. This included cell phone data and surveillance footage that linked the men to the crime. In October 2025, the jury found Lashaun Dixon, Donnell Thornton, and Jamel Weston guilty on all counts for the murders of Jami Crawford and Alexis Sellin. The following month, during an emotional court proceeding where family members of the victims spoke of their profound loss, the three men were sentenced. Each received the maximum penalty for their crimes: life in prison without the possibility of parole, ensuring they would not have the chance to inflict such pain again.
