So, you went in through the back sliding glass door and then what happened? I smelled the death mail. Friday, October 18th, 2024, St. Petersburg, Florida. Police receive a call from a local resident reporting a murder inside the home where he lived. The situation was extremely serious and officers needed to get to the scene immediately. But what exactly had happened? I'm Tyler and this is your daily dose of crime. 197. He came to the station earlier today, said he hadn't heard from his friend in a couple days. Okay. Uh came back just a few minutes ago. Said that he saw that his friend was bloated and stuff on the couch. Okay. The back sliding door was left unlocked. This will how he got inside to the residence. And as we walked in, we saw a pool of blood underneath the couch. He was on the side deformity to the left side of the head and he was triggered. Okay. So, let me help you guys out. Thank you. Hello, sir. Hi. My name is Officer Spark from St. P. Um, what's your first name? James. James, what's your last name? Hawkins Jr. When was the last time you seen him? I'm going say Sunday a Monday. Like I kept checking, locking, going like that. The mail was, you know, piked up. I said something ain't right. Units arrived at the residence and officers began taking a statement from the man who made the call. The man discovered the body and said that he had grown worried about his friend after days of not hearing from him. Concerned for his friend Otis Moore, he then decided to enter through a sliding back door and that's when he noticed a pool of blood under the couch. He had just found his friend Otis dead with a visible head deformity. What was he doing when you seen him last? He was uh oh laying down like they always do and and uh she would be in that damn room. There's a female that lives with him. Oh yeah. Yeah, that's that's who I am. What's her name? I used to call her snow snow white cuz you on them damn I can't think right now and he was then had a son there. So the last time you seen him on Sunday or Monday you were inside the house and he was laying down on the couch. Mhm. Was she there? Yeah, she was there and and the son was there. What's his son's name? I think Eli, but I'm not sure cuz we didn't man like that. I guess Would you Did you go stand by the back door? You see the back door? Uh the back door is how we got in. So just make sure nobody gets in. I just had that feeling. Um so how long how how often do you guys typically talk? Oh shoot. Couple times a day. Talk to him a couple times a day. Yeah. And then he had a habit of not picking up. So I just my brain and told to see left the car there. I bet she left that unlocked. Okay. Cuz if you got the door locked, the front door lock you can't you have to go that way. So you went in through the back sliding glass door and then what happened? I smelled the death smell and then I I looked and then I I I did a boxing. Okay. because then you know being know about public. So you didn't get close to him or anything like that and then you just walked across the street and you told him what was going on. Yeah. Cuz I I asked him earlier I said do y'all hear anything I call he was always kicking her out and then I went down time to see one of the call. Uh he got a son and a daughter one in Alabama. So, I can't take it her mom, but I don't know how to reach them unless she get his phone and go to his phone. Um, you're going to be next door for a little while, correct? I'm Hey, I bought the house, so I'm going I'm going to be for a good while. All right. Well, well, what I I guess like in the immediate future, if I have any more questions, you'll be home. Oh, yeah. All right, sir. I'll come uh over there, and if you ever think of her name, please let us know. Okay. Okay. Um we'll be over in just a little bit. Okay. Otis had apparently been living with a woman and her son who would often spend time at the house. That left police with two possible suspects, but at the time only one name was known, and that was Jessica. The situation felt strange. Otis had last been seen alive sometime between Sunday, October 13th, and Monday the 14th. But on Tuesday the 15th, clothing would be found scattered outside the front of his home. What was it that had really happened? And how could five days have passed and nobody heard or saw a thing? Hello, ma'am. Do you live here? Yeah. Okay. Do they all live back here, too, or? Well, um, no. The gentleman in the blue lives in the house next to me, and the other one's my brother-in-law. They just came in from California. Okay. So, do you know Mr. Otis? Only briefly. Not well at all. Had conversations with him. New neighbor, things like that. Seems very nice. met his wife, Jessica. And Jessica? Yeah. Okay. White female. Yeah. Do you know her last name by chance? No. I'm not that. She told me that it was her and her husband that lived there. Because when Robert told me, he said it was going to be Otis and his mom that were going to be living here. So, but and then I met her. She said, "No, my husband Otis and everything." She She been lying. Man, you can't believe nothing come out of my mouth. Okay. So, you said that they've been living here how long then? Oh, yeah. Six months. Seven months. Yeah. Somewhere around there. When was the last time you seen him physically? So, I talked to him on Sunday. I was out here cleaning around what time and stuff? Uh, I thought it was Sunday afternoon when you guys got back. So, or was Yeah. Was that Saturday or Sunday? You guys got back. Jessica got out and he because that's when I when I saw him that's how I got him. Yeah. I had to take him to get groceries and stuff. So yeah. So that was Sunday to get groceries. I thought you were Yeah, I think so. I'm pretty sure I spoke to him on Sunday because um the top of his tree had taken out the fence and I told him, "Don't worry about it. I'll I'm planning on replacing the fence, but if you could clean up the whole top of that tree, that would be great." And he said, "I'm going to go in for a few minutes and I'll come back out." And I never saw him again. So, I hauled it all out. Okay. Yeah. Well, he was on with the medication. Yeah. And and so that's why he didn't come out like that. I had to go over to his house, but she stayed in that damn room. You know, Ryan never saw it very often. His friend didn't like us. Totally bad news. And you said the last time you seen him was Sunday afternoon. You talked about the tree and your fence. Um, you said her name is Jessica. Mhm. White female. Approximately how old? She has blonde hair. I'm going to say that she is probably mid-40s. Yeah, something like that. Yeah, I'm going to say probably mid-40s. She look older. She doesn't. She's missing teeth. Yeah. Don't have them. Yeah. Okay. Um, does she have any tattoos? You miss him, but I I I don't know that I ever talked to her. Well, no. I talked to her, but I don't think I ever noticed um them so much. She kept herself closed up a lot, too. Okay. That's When did you see all this in the front yard? Monday. saw it on Monday. Mhm. Monday morning. Have you seen them since Sunday or Monday? Speaking to another neighbor, officers received more information that would help to build the case. Just like Otis's friend, she had last seen him on Sunday the 13th when they talked about getting the yard cleaned up. She also recalled seeing clothing on the lawn on Monday the 14th. She mentioned his girlfriend Jessica, describing her as a white woman around 40 years old with clear signs of health issues and noticeable tooth loss. What else could the officers uncover? Did you see them moving anything out? No. Cuz he told me that he going to kick the eye. They do something. I see that you have cameras. Do they face this right there? However, the internet's been up and down. So, yeah, they do. The answer your question is yes, but they have not been recording. Would would you be willing to just see if there was anything from Sunday until like Tuesday? Oh, I yeah, I can most definitely just be willing to look um because I want to see like how this kind of stuff got out here and whatnot to see if there was anything. I understand the storm happened, right? Like I understand Wi-Fi has been down. Um the one direct connect, but I can tell you right now I can't do live view on it, but I don't know. Let's take a peek. Okay. I think if they were fighting or anything, I would have heard of them. This has all been down. Do you hear them fighting very often? Yeah, I've heard couple times back there down like out in the backyard. Yeah. Okay. It never lasts very much longer than 90. Is it him and her? Her and somebody else. I can't see. So, I believe it's definitely her. Okay. So, but I'm assuming I can't I can only Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Let me see. It's not going to be this camera be that one if anything that's on. Um Oh, here we go. Look at there. Let's see if uh site is offline, but you can scroll back and see if it ever got anything. Still on today though, I think. What day? What day was it? It would have been I think we're guessing Sunday or Monday, but it was Monday morning first thing when I went out to start reaping that that stuff was all over there and I'm like, "Oh, they washing cars to help you get the Was Monday morning. The clothes and stuff are outside." Yeah. About what time? Oh, when did I get started? I was lazy. I didn't get started almost 9:00 Monday morning out here. I was starting to rake and everything and I was The last time you seen him physically seen him was Sunday afternoon. Yeah. Okay. Um, let's see if there's a way to see if there's Let's see. Filter. How about it? No more cry than I do. I didn't pay any attention. I didn't know how many days this stuff was out cuz they always up there. What's some look like? He is um I'm going to say Moana and um didn't have he had fluffy hair. Soond that thin um No, not blonde. Well, it was a lighter color. dirty blonde kind of brownish. Yeah. Okay. I think Merl was not black or anything. So, if him I don't know. I never met him. I only saw him on the bicycle um a couple times and that's only been within the last couple of weeks and I probably only saw him two or three times. But it bothered me because he's on a bicycle and all of a sudden he comes up in the driveway. So, yeah. Makes me nervous. I saw that one time. A younger kid driving. I think the bicycle was in the backyard. I saw him going on the side of the house. You Yeah, the bicycle was laying in the backyard. Is it still in there? To be honest with you, I wasn't even looking for a bicycle right when we first went over there. So, um I'll I'll look. What color was it? Do you know? I can only see it from here. I'm thinking it is black. Okay. Yeah, but it was laying right was laying there. It still is. Can't see now. Um, it was laying there just off the back. So, does he own this house or is he renting? But he bought it. He bought it. Mhm. That's what I thought. Only a few months. Six, seven months ago. Mhm. Yeah. No one met her in our chat here several times. Her cute little dog. And the white one. Yeah. Yeah. What's going to happen with that dog? Well, considering nobody's here except for the deceased, we have no other thing to do but other than call animal control. According to the neighbor, Otis and Jessica had argued frequently, so she and others assumed that the clothing in the yard was part of another fight between them. Officers tried reviewing footage from surveillance cameras in the area, but due to signal issues, nothing useful from the day could be recovered. That meant that they would have to rely solely on witness statements and physical evidence, which would eventually lead them to a single suspect. Yeah, 104 remaining contact. All right, let me see. All right, I got you. Where you at? Yeah, let's get them all through 88 at the bridge. Good. Got your thing in your pockets, man. Uh, I probably got my wire down here. Taking over. It don't matter. You got your stuff on, so you know. Yeah, it's fine. Hey, come walk. I'm just going to search it real quick. [Music] Yeah. After hours of investigation, gathering evidence, and awaiting forensic results, police then made a breakthrough. In the early hours of Friday, October 18th, they located the person responsible for the killing. Jacquel Mayor, Jessica's son, was found walking through a nearby street in the middle of the night. He didn't resist and quietly surrendered to police, admitting to the killing. But the question remained, what were his reasons for committing such a crime? Okay. And make sure it stays safe. All right. Okay. Yeah, we got all under the hat, right? I'm just going to put it in the bag. So you 5 minutes. I'm good. Thank you. Thank you. Go home. Right now, huh? Right now. No, this different person address. That's the address number. What's your name, buddy? Jacquel. Jacquel. Jacquel. Jacquel. Okay. Your last name, n I'm sorry. Mayor. Maynor. How old are you? 19. 19. What school did you go before? What high school? I went to Lemon. Lemon. I went to Lakewood, but I ain't never finished high school. I end up getting my GED. Okay. Well, you're Lakewood, you know, officer Rivera. Uh, the school resource officer. Okay. Baptis female officer baptis. I be trying to I got you. Are you uh do you have a job right now? Just you're not working at all? No, I was supposed to. I was actually living. Okay. Did you go P tech or anything school? Anything for at all? No, I I had I haven't had a chance to make it to college like I wanted to. I was just like actually referring myself to going to college. You start getting these free tuitions from these colleges and stuff at Arizona. Did you finish your GED? No. You need to finish your GED first before you I did not finish my GED. That's why. Okay. If you let you say that I finished my GED. If if if you finish your GED, you can apply for St. Pete College. You know that, right? Yeah. They and then they give you uh financial aid if you need it and stuff like that. They give you book money to buy book and me give money to uh pay for tuition. And you might got some extra too if if if you know how how to use it wisely like instead by news book by old book or or again with all the people sharing book make copy let's say certain chapter they're not covering it. Oh and you can make a copy it and then save you a bunch of money. I I always wanted to go to Ear. You want to go? That's the one I want to go. Okay. Early. Okay. What do you want to study in? Uh my LLC. I'm sorry. To get my LLC. LLC? Yeah. My business. Okay. Echo college is not you have to go get a business degree. LLC you have to go to apply for it. Uh it's different. School don't teach you but school teach you how to do business. Okay. So, you want to uh get a general ed in the uh business administration? I'm trying to own my own company. What kind what company you want to like? Therapy companies that help people and like really really all companies that has something to do to help somebody. Okay. Like what kind of help? Like like mental health type of help. Okay. And physical health like a hospital or something too. Okay. So like that stuff you have to go into medical service kind of uh uh uh uh end of it you know so like psycho psychiatrist you have to psychology class and a bunch of stuff like that. Okay healthc care that's what the get in and take a look at. All right when we're done with this let's say they whatever it is the judge release you want to go back to school you also have an opportunity to go back to school. Think about all those stuff. All right, man. You got a long way ahead of you, bro. Charge me something that I did once again. I'm surprised I ain't killed myself the first time. I just did 5 years since I was 14. Now, this is a first degree murder. It was something I didn't do. I I was just trying to save my people. Like it's like I always get up for trying to help my people. The reason why I ain't telling my cousin the first time was because that was my family member. I didn't want to hurt my grandma. Hey, got you. Are you diagnosed with anything? Okay. Been crazy, bro. Crazy. Mayor spoke with officers and said that he had both educational and job experience. He admitted to having prior charges for aggravated assault, but one part of the conversation stood out. He spoke with genuine interest about finishing school and one day starting his own business. The way in which he talked about his dreams did not match the reality of his actions. It seemed as though he had not fully grasped what he had done, because if he had, he would have realized that taking a life had destroyed any chance of a future he claimed to want. Give me five more minutes. I'm having a situation upstairs. Okay. The bathroom malfunction. You hold it for 5 minutes. Yeah. Well, you can set one. I'll put them in the van. Yeah. She called me for me to get her ass. Could you help? Uh, this is not Maya. It's uh What's your name, sir? Drive 12 J HL M A Y. My name's Officer F. I'm a transport. I don't know what your charges are right now. First degree. Okay. First degree. Okay. Well, taking care of a little situation. I'm going to put you in the back of my van. I'm going to go upstairs for a minute and then we'll come back down. We're going to leave. What? I'm going to put your handcuffs in the front. Gulp. Okay. I didn't know you didn't have them in a cruiser. Huh? I didn't know you didn't have them in a cruiser. No, no. From I had one upstairs to use the bathroom and that bathroom got all messed up. It overflowed. So, I'm trying to get a hold of maintenance. Meanwhile, I have a sergeant calling me ring me out that I didn't get a hold of maintenance yet within 5 minutes. All right. Nothing illegal on you, right? I will stand by while we Yeah, I got I appreciate it. Step out to the side. We're legal in 10 minutes. Okay. You have any paper towel? That stuff right there. That stuff right there. Jaquille Mayor, age 19, would be arrested for first-degree murder and now faces years in prison depending on the circumstances of the crime and his criminal history.