OCALA – Marion County sheriff's investigators have arrested six people in connection with the death and disposal of a 15-year-old boy in Summerfield whose body was burned and shoveled into paint cans.
The victim, Seath Tyler Jackson, of Belleview, was lured to 13896 SE 53rd Ave. on Sunday, where he was severely beaten, shot multiple times with a .22-caliber handgun, beaten again and, after showing signs of life, shot another time, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The victim's parents reported him missing on Monday. Investigators broke the case on Tuesday and continued to work into the night. On Wednesday morning they planned to continued their search for the remains and the .22 caliber handgun used to kill Seath.
Five people were charged with murder:
· Kyle Lonnie-Duan Hooper, 16;
· Amber Wright, 15;
· Justin E. Soto, 20;
· Michael Shane Bargo, 18; and
· Charlie Kay Ely, 18.
James Young Havens III, 37, stepfather of Kyle and Amber, was charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
Shackled and dressed in an orange Bradford County jumpsuit, Bargo made an obscene gesture when a reporter asked if he was innocent. The suspect was being lead to the Marion County Jail by Detective Donald Buie and other law enforcement officials.
Based on arrest reports, here's how the crime unfolded:
On Monday, the Sheriff's Office received a report from Seath's parents that their son was missing and might be a runaway. They said the last time they heard from him was on the previous day.
On Tuesday, 16-year-old Kyle's mother contacted the Sheriff's Office and told authorities that her son was a witness to Seath's murder and that it had occurred at Ely's Summerfield home.
Interviewed at the Sheriff's Office, Kyle told detectives Buie, Miriam Diaz and Rhonda Stroup the chilling details of the case.
Kyle told investigators that on April 17, he, Bargo, Ely, his sister Amber, and Soto were at Ely's house when Bargo talked about his hatred for Seath. From there, the conversation turned to how Seath could be coaxed there with the purpose of killing him.
The plan was for the two females - Amber and Ely - to lure Seath. Kyle told investigators that once Seath was at the home he and Soto began hitting him in the head with wooden objects. Then, he said, Bargo shot Seath multiple times.
When Seath tried to flee, Soto restrained him, and, as Soto held Seath down, Bargo continued to shoot him, according to the reports.
Seath's body is then dragged and placed in a bathtub, where Bargo tried to - and eventually did - break the victim's kneecaps with some type of object. Seath was then hog-tied and placed in a sleeping bag, which was carried into the back yard and burned in a fire pit.
Using bleach, the participants cleaned the house, and they shoveled remains from the burn pit into several five-gallon paint cans.
Detectives later interviewed Ely, and she told them she knew about the plot to kill Seath and talked about her role in the murder.
They interviewed Amber, too, and she also admitted being involved, investigators said.
Soto was found. He told investigators that, while Bargo was hitting the victim's knees, Bargo realized the boy was still alive and shot him again.
Havens - Amber and Kyle's stepfather - told detectives he was aware of the conspiracy and that he helped Bargo and Soto dispose of the victim's remains and other evidence. He also said he took Bargo to Starke to avoid capture.
Detectives later arrested Bargo at his girlfriend's home in Starke.
As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, detectives had not yet found the victim's remains or the weapon used.
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