Jackie Arnold Kays was a 35-year-old military veteran who worked in remodeling and was remembered by loved ones as a strong, thoughtful, and God-fearing man. To one person, he was “the love of my life,” while others who knew the White man described him as being “like sunshine always smiling.” Known to friends as Jack or Jay, his life was remembered as a bright one in his community of Munford, Alabama.
On October 27, 2024, that life was cut short by gun violence. The Talladega County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a shooting in Munford and dispatched deputies to the scene. There, they discovered Jackie, who had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. Investigators immediately began treating the death as a homicide.
The investigation progressed swiftly, and authorities soon identified a person of interest.
Thomas Austin Griffith, a 25-year-old man from the nearby town of Heflin, was taken into custody in connection with Jackie’s death. The Sheriff’s Office stated that the shooting appeared to be the result of a feud between the two men.
Griffith was arrested and formally charged with murder. The case concluded when Thomas Austin Griffith pleaded guilty to the murder of Jackie Arnold Kays on June 3, 2026. He was sentenced for the crime in September 2026.
