MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. — The Morgan County Sheriff's Office announced two arrests in a 2019 homicide Monday.
Justin M. Blake, 19, and Britney D. Overton, 26, both of Indianapolis, were arrested for murder. The arrests follow a 13-month investigation after a badly decomposed body was found along North Mann Rd. in Mooresville.
Police released an image of a shirt similar to the one the victim was wearing and ultimately identified him as Alexander Dashiell Jackson, 23, of Indianapolis. The sheriff's office said Jackson had been shot.
In court documents, Overton's sister said Britney was upset with Jackson for allegedly stealing money from her. During the investigation, one of the people police were talking to called Overton and she told them she didn't know anything but heard Jackson was dead.
"Britney was a really, really close friend to Alex,” said David Good, Jackson’s father, who lives in Springfield, Illinois. “How do you do that to somebody that you were friends with? And I don't understand how you leave him out there for the animals. He had no flesh left on him."
In the court documents, Blake's grandmother told police he told her he had killed a man. Blake allegedly said he thought the man was going to kill him, so he instead shot the man five times. He then showed his grandmother a news story about Jackson's body being found.
Court records also show Overton allegedly tried to get a gun just days before Jackson's murder and removed him as a Facebook friend just minutes after police believe Jackson was killed. Overton's DNA was also found on a key ring investigators found along with Jackson's DNA. Police checking her cell phone found that it connected with a tower a half-mile from the crime scene on the day police suspect Jackson was killed.
"He had so many dreams, so it’s just not real that I am not going to be able to call him at 3 o’clock in the morning," Jackson's best friend, Ashton Manson, said at the time. "When I first realized that this was Alex, I just felt numb I just kind of sat there and was like 'Alex is dead. He is dead."
The prosecutor's office is charging Overton with one count of murder and one count of robbery. Blake is facing two counts of murder and one count of robbery.
Overton made her initial court appearance Monday. Blake has a court hearing Tuesday. Both are scheduled for a jury trial January 9, 2021.
"It just opens a lot of wounds back up,” said Good. “You try to put it to the side. You're about to get over it. Now I have another long journey with all the court cases. You sit there and just stare off in space. You just see and you have flashbacks. This is an emotional roller coaster."