Carlos Collins

Carlos Collins, a 25-year-old Black man, was a registered nurse in Jackson, Mississippi, described by his family as a "light in this dark world" and a "gentle giant" who loved to help others. In the months before his death, Collins was living in fear. After he ended a year-long relationship with Marcus Johnson in late 2023, his family said he was subjected to relentless stalking. Collins reported the harassment to the Jackson Police Department multiple times and secured a restraining order against Johnson, but it continued. His family believes the police department, where Johnson had once been an officer, failed to protect him.

The terror culminated in the early hours of April 9, 2024, at Collins’s apartment at the Tapestry Northridge complex. Prosecutors would later say that Johnson brutally attacked Collins, striking him six times with an axe, including three times to the head, and shooting him at least 15 times. A Ring surveillance camera captured part of the horrific incident, showing a naked and bloody Collins banging on a neighbor's door for help before he was killed. A neighbor who heard the commotion called 911 and later found Collins’s body on his doorstep after police arrived.

The suspect, Marcus Johnson, a 35-year-old former Jackson police officer, fled the scene. The next day, after a high-speed chase involving law enforcement from Mississippi and Louisiana, Johnson was captured near Monroe, Louisiana. He was extradited back to Jackson and charged with murder and shooting into an occupied dwelling, as one of the gunshots entered a neighbor's apartment. At an initial court appearance on April 12, 2024, a judge denied him bond, deeming him a flight risk.

In August 2024, a Hinds County grand jury indicted Johnson on charges of first-degree murder and shooting into a dwelling. He pleaded not guilty in October. His trial began in February 2026, where his attorney argued that Johnson acted in self-defense after Collins attacked him with the axe. The prosecution presented the Ring camera footage and evidence of the brutal, prolonged assault. After deliberating for less than an hour, the jury rejected the self-defense claim and found Johnson guilty on both counts.

On February 13, 2026, Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Faye Peterson sentenced Marcus Johnson to life in prison for first-degree murder, plus a consecutive 10-year term for shooting into an occupied dwelling. Before handing down the sentence, the judge noted the extreme brutality of the crime and Johnson's lack of remorse, telling him, "I've heard and seen a lot of things, and this was really bad, even for me to see... this court doesn’t have any sympathy for you." The case was closed as of Johnson's sentencing in February 2026.