Flynn Brown was a 22-year-old Black male from New Jersey who brought joy and leadership to those around him. A talented football player, he had earned a roster spot at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a student in the fall of 2022. His family remembered him as a star who always had open arms for anyone and made sure others were taken care of.
On the morning of December 2, 2022, that promising life was cut short when Brown was found deceased inside a Dodge
Challenger in a campus parking lot near Dixon Hall. An autopsy determined he had died from a single gunshot wound to the back of his head, fired from a distance of over two feet. The investigation quickly led to his roommate and fellow student, 20-year-old Randall Smith.
Smith was taken into custody and admitted to shooting Brown, but claimed it was in self-defense. According to his account, an argument over a box of doughnuts escalated into a physical fight, during which he alleged Brown began to choke him. Smith said he then grabbed a nearby gun and fired. However, investigators found evidence that contradicted his claim. Bleach had been used on the floor of their seventh-floor dorm room in an apparent attempt to clean up blood, and Smith’s shirt also had bleach on it. Authorities stated that after the shooting, Smith placed Brown’s body into a black box, dragged it from the room, and moved it to the car where he was later discovered.
The investigation also uncovered a history of conflict between the two roommates. Months before the shooting, Brown and his suitemates had reported a series of thefts to campus police, including an iPad and clothing, and suspected Smith was responsible. Brown’s parents, Michele Hill-Brown and Michael Brown, later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jackson State University, alleging the university was negligent and failed to act on their son’s safety concerns.
Randall Smith was arrested and charged with murder. He was initially denied bond but was later granted a $200,000 bond. In May 2023, a Hinds County grand jury indicted Smith on a first-degree murder charge. His trial took place in April 2026. The prosecution presented its case, but the defense did not call any witnesses, and Smith did not testify.
After deliberating for more than three hours, the jury informed the judge they were deadlocked and could not reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors later revealed that while all believed Smith was guilty of a crime, they were split 10-2 and could not agree on whether the charge should be first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter, with some questioning if there was enough evidence of premeditation. The judge declared a mistrial on April 9, 2026.
Following the mistrial, Randall Smith was returned to the Hinds County Jail. As of April 2026, prosecutors had not yet announced whether they would seek to retry the case.
