The murder of 15 year old Seath Jackson was a cold, calculated crime planned out by 5 young individuals.
Before The Crime.
To understand why this crime was committed we must take it back to before and start with the romantic relationship between Seath Jackson and Amber Wright. To begin with the relationship was happy however it quickly turned sour with allegations of cheating and abuse. Important to note early on there was never any evidence pointing to Seath being abusive and these claims have also been dismissed by police. The row then moved to facebook with the two exchanging hateful comments towards each other. It was at this time that people suspected Amber (aged 15) began seeing Mike Bargo (aged 18). Mike seemed to be just as angry with Seath as he believed that he abused her or it could have just been the fact that the two were romantically involved. Amber's mom gave a little insight into why Mike was so angry during her interview.
It is also mentioned that Seath and Mike had a fight in which Seath, 3 years younger than Mike, won. Clearly this dented Mike’s pride and caused even more hatred towards him. Mike lived in a house owned by Charlie Ely, she was 18, also staying at this house was Justin Soto aka Roach (aged 20) and finally Kyle Hooper who was age 16 and Amber Wright's half brother. Amber also regularly stayed at this house. Mike was not the only one who was angry with Seath as allegedly Kyle had found Seath in bed with his ex-girlfriend. Kyle claimed he had strong feelings for the girl and this incident upset him.
The Night of The Murder.
On that fateful night Mike began snorting ‘pills’ and getting ‘amped up.’ Mike then turns to the group and states he wants to go on a killing spree before asking if they are in.
This is when they plan to murder Seath. The first step of the plan was enticing Seath to the house to allow them to attack him. In order to do this Amber text Seath stating she wanted to meet up in order to ‘make up.’ Sadly Seath agreed to this meet up although he was skeptical as he mentioned to Amber how he better not get jumped if he comes. Below is Kyle describing how everyone knew about the plan and agreed.
Kyle then got up and started hitting Seath over the head in order to ‘make it easier for Mike to kill him.’ I think it's quite interesting Kyle was the first to hit Seath as Mike has been described as the ringleader but clearly Kyle wanted an active part in this murder. This could have been due to the resentment he harbored towards Seath. It was then that Justin (aged 20) began attacking Seath too.
After being struck over the head Seath managed to get up and run towards the door however as he was doing so Mike shot him numerous times in the back. Remarkably still fighting Seath managed to make it out of the door before Justin and Kyle tackled him to the ground. Kyle described Seath as barely alive while they both pinned him down. Justin states in an interview how he ‘grabbed a piece of him.’ The boys then dragged Seath upstairs where Mike continued his vicious attack. He began beating and shooting Seath even after the boy was clearly dead.
An important note the girls both claimed they were hiding in a room while this attack took place and that all they heard was gunshots and shouting.
Moving on the boys now have a dead body in their bathtub. Firstly Mike begins to break Seath’s kneecaps so that they can tie him up. He is then hog tied and placed inside a sleeping bag. They then carry the body outside the house and towards the garden as they prepare to burn the body.
At this point Justin goes off to collect firewood and the others begin building the fire to burn Seath’s body. The boys threw Seath’s body on the fire along with a couple of used tyres in order to ‘over do the smell of the dead body.’ Once the body has burned the boys then place his remains into large buckets tied to cinder blocks. Below is Kyle describing how Mike treated it as a game and played around with Seath's body.
They then call Kyle Hooper's step dad, James Heavens, for assistance in transporting the remains. Somehow James agrees and helps them take the remains out to a remote quarry selected by Mike. They then throw his remains into the water and watch as they sink below the surface.
The Arrest
A nationwide news story is published given Seath has been missing for a few days and clearly the pressure becomes too much for Kyle. He confesses to his mother a brief version of events, this description prompts Kyle's mother to call the police at which point Amber, Kyle, Justin and Charlie are arrested. Mike ends up on the run while the others are brought in for interrogation.
We have already seen some clips of the interviews, but it is quite interesting how the detectives manage to extract confessions out of each member within 20 minutes of talking! They use the tactic of telling each one that the other has confessed and if they don’t it could lead to harsher punishment. Soon the story is revealed by each individual as told above, however Kyle is definitely the most vocal about the crime and describes in detail how every member played their role.
Eventually Mike Bargo is turned into the police by the father of the girlfriend's house he had been staying at. It is reported Mike confessed to numerous people in the house about the killing and that they were shocked by his account of the crime. Mike is brought into the interview room and given a chance to tell his story however he instantly clams up and requests a lawyer meaning the detective can no longer ask anymore questions.
Most Shocking Moments From The Interviews.
The moment Amber confesses she knew that something would happen when she and Charlie lured Seath to the house. This is an important moment for investigators as it gives them grounds to prove intent. They also claim they were threatened by Mike and were scared for their lives if they did not do this. However the detectives refute this claim given there were plenty of opportunities to call police with none being taken.
The group of 4 are placed into the same room after each one has confessed to the murder. The camera reveals some interesting footage. Firstly they talk about the fear of going to prison and how they will be treated for murdering someone. It is also quite interesting to hear Amber say ‘I didn’t do anything’, clearly she has not yet accepted the reality of the role she played in this crime.
The detective eventually re-enters the room to which Kyle asks what's going to happen now. This clip is quite interesting as the calm and relaxed persona of the detective is now gone and the teens are met with anger and a reality check. It leads Charlie to cry out ‘I want my mom.’
Finally it seems the youths have realized the severity of the situation they find themselves in, it is also important to remember that the life of a 15 year old boy was lost due to their actions.
The Charges
Firstly James Heavens, Kyle’s stepfather, is charged as an accessory to murder, his sentencing has not been reported on however he could face up to 30 years. Amber, Kyle, Justin and Charlie were all sentenced to life imprisonment however after a retrial Charlie was freed at age 27. Mike was sentenced to death for his crimes and is the youngest man to be on death row, with no date set for his execution. Mike did give his version of events in the courtroom and it was explosive to say the least.
Mike Bargos Court Appearance
This is the first time we can hear from Mike given he immediately requested a lawyer in his interview. Initially Mike claims how he was under the impression that Seath was abusive towards Amber who he considered his little sister. Mike is also confronted for the fact that his girlfriend was underage when he was dating her and that he took advantage.
Mike then goes on to portray Kyle as the ringleader for the attack. He also claims he wasn’t even present at the time of the murder. He states that Kyle beat him up, stole his gun and then threw him out of the house. It was only when he returned later that he saw the huge fire burning. Obviously this was proven to be untrue by forensic evidence however it is interesting to hear Mike claim he had absolutely nothing to do with the crime.
The full court appearance is below.
Conclusion
I think this case is truly sad given the life of a 15 year old boy was taken in such a brutal way, but also fascinating given those involved in committing the crime. Let us know what you think… Were the punishments deserved? Was Mike the ringleader? What case do you want to see covered next?
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