Suspects In 2023 Murder To Appear In Court Next Month
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Fredarrious
Wilson was killed in 2023
COFFEEVILLE – Court dates are scheduled next month for four defendants charged in the 2023 death of West Memphis teenager Fredarrious Wilson. Husband and wife, Bralin Jackson and Layvonnia Jackson, Brandon Jackson and Devin Smith were each charged with first degree murder by deliberate design and conspiracy to commit murder after Wilson’s body was discovered riddled with gunshots in a remote area in the Holly Springs National Forest in Yalobusha County on March 5, 2023. Wilson was 18 years old.
According to court documents, Bralin Jackson, Brandon Jackson and Devin Smith are scheduled to appear in Circuit Court in Coffeeville on July 28 to enter pleas. Layvonnia Jackson is also scheduled to appear on July 28 for a plea hearing. A trial date is scheduled for Layvonnia Jackson on August 18 if a plea is not entered.
The cases were initially set to be heard in March, but were continued after the court ordered a mental evaluation for defendant Devin Smith.
Wilson was reported missing by his mother on March 5, 2023, after he did not return home. Two days later, on March 7, the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department received a phone call from the West Memphis Police Department after the missing teen’s phone was last pinged in a remote area in Yalobusha County. Deputies received the call around 6 p.m. and searched until midnight but were unable to locate Wilson.
The following morning, March 8, a U.S. Forest Service employee spotted Wilson’s body approximately 30 yards off of County Road 243 at 11 a.m. The Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department responded and were assisted by agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) as officers spent hours processing evidence at the scene. It would take another week of exhaustive investigative work before arrests were made. All four suspects were from the Coffeeville area.
Authorities released few details about the murder and investigation, but reported it was not a random crime and the victim knew at least one of the suspects.
Wilson’s mother told the Herald that he trusted the young lady, a reference to Layvonnia Jackson. Wilson was only months away from graduating from the Academies of West Memphis (AWS) when he was killed.
His mother, Shirley Howell, told the Herald after his death that her son’s dream was to attend college and become an architect.
“He wanted to help people who could not afford it,” Howell told the Herald. Wilson wanted to design projects for others, she explained.
Howell said her son also loved cooking and playing games online with his brother and friends.
