In the spring of 1981, a beloved 35-year-old male, Reverend John Jay Jackson, served as the assistant pastor at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Jackson, Tennessee. His life was tragically cut short on the evening of Thursday, May 14, when he was killed inside the church rectory. An autopsy later revealed that he had died from a gunshot wound to the back of his right shoulder, and a second nonfatal gunshot wound was found in his left shoulder.
The scene suggested a struggle, with scrapes on the priest's body and lacerations on his head consistent with being struck by a blunt object, possibly a gun.
The investigation into the reverend's death quickly pointed to a burglary gone wrong. A sliding glass door to the rectory had been shattered, and the interior was in disarray, with drawers pulled out and their contents scattered. The pockets of Reverend Jackson's clothing were turned out, and coins were strewn on the floor. Investigators discovered footprints from tennis shoes leading away from the rectory. These clues, however, were just the beginning of a larger and more complex story of a dangerous fugitive.
Authorities identified the suspect as Laron Ronald Williams, a man who had escaped from prison where he was serving a sentence for a previous murder. Just days before the killing of Reverend Jackson, Williams had murdered a Memphis Police Department lieutenant. After a multi-day manhunt, Williams was captured at a restaurant next to a motel where he was staying.
Laron Ronald Williams was subsequently charged with first-degree murder for the deaths of both Reverend John Jay Jackson and the police lieutenant. He was found guilty in separate trials and sentenced to death for both murders. However, Williams' sentence would not be carried out by the state. In 1985, while on death row, he was killed by fellow inmates. Two inmates were later convicted of voluntary manslaughter for his death.
