In the spring of 2021, the life of Joanne Lashay Jackson, a 21-year-old Black woman and mother to three-year-old twins, was tragically taken in her hometown of Bessemer, Alabama. Her death was the culmination of a domestic dispute that turned violent, ending a young life and leaving a family to grieve.
Joanne had ended a relationship with her 20-year-old ex-boyfriend, De Anthius Jacobien Edwards, about a month before her death.
According to her family, the situation escalated when Edwards appeared the day before the shooting and smashed her cell phone. He returned to her home in the 2800 block of Carolina Terrace on the evening of Wednesday, April 14, 2021. There, he engaged Joanne in a heated argument, which was reportedly over a new relationship she had started.
Joanne’s sister, who witnessed the confrontation, recalled that Edwards was “talking crazy” and that she had asked him to leave the home. As Edwards walked down the steps of the residence, Joanne followed to ensure he was leaving the property. It was at that moment that Edwards reportedly began shooting. One of the bullets struck Joanne in the chest. She was rushed from the scene to UAB Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:10 p.m. The shooting had occurred around 9:14 p.m.
The following day, De Anthius Jacobien Edwards surrendered to the Bessemer Police Department. He was arrested, charged with murder, and booked into the Jefferson County Jail with his bond set at $150,000. Nearly three years later, the case came to its legal conclusion. In April 2024, Edwards pleaded guilty to the murder of Joanne Jackson. A judge sentenced him to serve 18 years in prison for the crime.
