For more than a decade, Gwendolyn Jackson had carved out a life for herself in Memphis, Tennessee, navigating the hardships of homelessness with a quiet grace that left a lasting impression on those who knew her. A woman of deep faith, the 67-year-old was a daily presence at St. Mary's Catholic Church on Market Street. She would attend Bible studies, her own Bible always with her, and ate breakfast at the soup kitchen six days a week.
Those who interacted with her remembered a kind, compassionate, and beautiful lady who never had a mean word to say about anyone.
Gwendolyn rarely spoke of her past, but she hinted at a difficult life marked by abuse. Despite the pain she had endured, she was considered an angel and a saint by members of the church community who got to know her. Her gentle spirit made the events of June 6, 2012, all the more shocking. That morning, Ron Bezon, the manager of the church's soup kitchen, saw her huddled under a blanket on the side porch, a common sight. Thinking she was asleep, he went inside to begin his day. It was only later that the horrific truth was discovered: Gwendolyn Jackson had been raped and brutally murdered.
Her body was found on the side porch of the church, the place that had been her sanctuary. She had been bludgeoned to death with a brick, which was found at the scene. The discovery sent waves of grief through the downtown community that knew her. The attack was vicious and mirrored the deaths of two other Memphis women, as well as a brutal assault on a woman in Knoxville. For years, a serial killer had been targeting vulnerable women, but his identity remained unknown.
The investigation into Gwendolyn’s murder would finally bring an end to the string of violent crimes. Homicide investigator W.D. Merritt, who was assigned to her case, recognized the similarities to the 2011 murder of Valerie Ector. He knew DNA evidence from Ector's case matched a 2008 attempted murder in Knoxville. In each instance, the women were bludgeoned, sexually assaulted, and left partially nude with a blanket covering them. At the scene of Gwendolyn’s death, investigators collected what might have seemed like trash: an empty 24-ounce can of Olde English malt liquor in a brown paper bag. A partial fingerprint was lifted from that bag.
The fingerprint belonged to Michael Mullins, a man with a long history of petty crimes like panhandling and public drunkenness, but who had never been suspected of such violent acts. His arrest just one day after Gwendolyn's murder quickly unraveled a 13-year reign of terror. Once in custody, Mullins confessed in detail to the murders of Gwendolyn Jackson, Valerie Ector in 2011, and Beatrice Marie Cole in 1999. He also admitted to the 2008 rape and attempted murder of Jessie Maples in Knoxville.
Mullins's method was consistent and brutal. He targeted women on the margins of society, attacking them with bricks or concrete blocks. His first known victim, Beatrice Marie Cole, was killed in 1999. He laid her body out and covered it with a blanket, making it appear as though she were merely a homeless person sleeping. For years, the cases went unsolved, linked only by DNA evidence that remained unidentified until the crucial fingerprint was found at Gwendolyn's scene.
On December 5, 2014, Michael Mullins pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and multiple counts of aggravated rape. He was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 50 years for the Knoxville attack. This ensured he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
While little is known about Gwendolyn Jackson's life before she arrived in Memphis, her final years were defined by her gentle nature and the community she found at St. Mary's. Though her life ended in an act of unimaginable violence, her death was not in vain. The single piece of evidence left behind by her killer was the clue that finally led police to his door, ending a hidden, decade-long murder spree and bringing a long-overdue sense of justice for all his victims.
