On a Wednesday afternoon in Indianapolis, the grim discovery of two bodies shattered the quiet of a neighborhood on the city's east side. Alexander Blake Brown, a 24-year-old Black man, and his close friend, 23-year-old Mack Taylor, were found deceased on September 14, 2016, tucked away in an alley between abandoned houses in the 2900 block of Gladstone Avenue.
The scene drew a significant police presence and a crowd of concerned onlookers as detectives began to piece together the events that led to the double homicide.
The investigation quickly led police to a nearby house on Gladstone Avenue, which was described as having a significant amount of blood inside, indicating a violent struggle had taken place there. Authorities believed this location was connected to the deaths of Brown and Taylor. While the initial investigation was active, no immediate arrests for the murders were announced. A few days after the discovery, four individuals were arrested for breaking into the house that was considered a part of the crime scene, but it was not immediately clear if they were directly implicated in the homicides.
In the years that followed, the case of Alexander Blake Brown and Mack Taylor's murders grew cold, leaving their families waiting for justice. The investigation was hampered by a lack of cooperating witnesses, a common challenge in such cases. There was some speculation about the motive, with police at one point suggesting the murders may have been drug-related. One of the victims, Mack Taylor, was reportedly an associate of a local gang.
Despite the ongoing investigation, no suspects have been publicly named or charged with the murders of Alexander Blake Brown and Mack Taylor. The case officially remains unsolved, one of many such cases in the city. The families have expressed their pain and frustration over the lack of resolution, with Brown's mother advocating for justice for her son and other victims of unsolved homicides in Indianapolis. One report in 2018 mentioned that at least one person suspected of being connected to Brown's murder had been killed in 2017, though no further official details on this lead have been released. The deaths of Alexander Blake Brown and Mack Taylor serve as a somber reminder of the toll of unsolved violence on a community.
