In a quiet townhome on Rebecca Street in Hinesville, Georgia, a gathering of friends on a Saturday night would ultimately lead to a grim discovery and a double homicide investigation. On the evening of Sunday, March 5, 2017, police received an anonymous tip that led them to the residence of 23-year-old Specialist MarQuez Brown. Inside, they found a bloody scene and the bodies of Brown and his friend, 21-year-old Private Malika Jackson. Both men, who were soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Stewart, had been shot to death.
The investigation into the deaths of the two soldiers quickly pointed to a fellow serviceman. Within days, Hinesville police, in conjunction with the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, arrested 24-year-old Sergeant Shaquille D. Craig, charging him with two counts of murder. Investigators determined that the motive was personal, stemming from a dispute between Craig and Jackson. It was revealed that there had been a party at Brown's townhome the night before the bodies were found, which both Jackson and Craig's estranged wife attended. Brown, it seemed, was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A second soldier, Specialist Phillip Thompson, was also implicated in the crime and charged with two counts of being a party to the crime of murder. During a court hearing, testimony revealed that Thompson allegedly drove Craig to Brown's townhome. The plan, as detailed by investigators, was for Thompson to gain entry by pretending he had left something at the party the night before. Once inside, he was to leave the door unlocked for Craig to enter. Following the plan, Craig allegedly came into the residence and shot both Brown and Jackson. An autopsy would later confirm that both men had been shot twice. After the murders, Thompson is said to have assisted Craig in getting rid of the weapon and clothing. Craig was subsequently denied bond and the case was set to move to a grand jury.
