On the evening of October 30, 2002, Jason William Mizell, a 37-year-old male known professionally as Jam Master Jay, was fatally shot at his recording studio in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens, New York. Mizell, the influential DJ for the pioneering hip-hop group Run-DMC, was playing a video game with a friend when two armed men entered the studio. One of the assailants fired two shots at close range, one of which struck Mizell in the head, killing him instantly.
Another person in the room was shot in the leg but survived.
For nearly two decades, the murder of the hip-hop icon remained one of New York City's most high-profile unsolved cases. Witnesses were reportedly reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement, fearing for their safety. However, investigators continued to pursue leads over the years, and in August 2020, a breakthrough finally came with the indictment of two men: Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. The indictment alleged that the motive for the killing was a drug deal gone wrong. Prosecutors claimed that Mizell had acquired a large quantity of cocaine and that Washington and Jordan Jr. were supposed to be involved in its distribution. When Mizell cut them out of the deal, they conspired to murder him in an act of revenge.
In February 2024, following a trial in federal court in Brooklyn, both Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. were convicted of murder while engaged in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy and firearm-related murder. Eyewitnesses testified during the trial, identifying Jordan Jr. as the shooter and Washington as the accomplice who held others at gunpoint. The convictions were seen as a long-awaited measure of justice for Mizell's family, friends, and fans. A third suspect, Jay Bryant, was charged in May 2023 for his alleged role in letting the two men into the building; his trial is scheduled to take place separately.
However, in a surprising turn of events in December 2025, a federal judge overturned the murder conviction of Karl Jordan Jr. The judge ruled that while there was testimony placing Jordan Jr. at the scene, prosecutors had not presented sufficient evidence to prove his motive for the killing. The judge, however, upheld the conviction of Ronald Washington, finding that the evidence against him was legally sufficient. Washington is now awaiting sentencing and faces a minimum of 20 years to life in prison. Jordan Jr., while acquitted of the murder, still faces separate drug-related charges.
