Now part of the Darkcast Network. Welcome to Indie Podcasts with a dark side. On April 18, 2021, Sonya Jackson called the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to report her son Seth Jackson, missing. Seth hadn’t come home the night before, and by morning, his family knew something was wrong. Sonya told dispatchers that the last time anyone saw him, he was going to meet his ex girlfriend, Amber Wright. She also said that it was completely, completely out of character for Seth to stay away overnight without telling anyone. Welcome, lambs. Welcome to Love and Heartbreak. To Homicide, your weekly true crime podcast where I tell you stories of relationships that turn deadly, always with the victim in mind. And sometimes you might hear some ranting. I’m Kai, and today I’m going to tell you about the murder of Seth Jackson. But before we get started, don’t forget this podcast is listener funded. And that means you. By joining us on Patreon, you help us to continue to be the voice of the victims. And you get access to exclusive content you can’t Hear anywhere else. Patreon.com uh, LoveAndMurder uh, the last bonus episode that I just released is part of our serial killer Corner series. It was the case of David Brian Pierce. Imagine this. Young women lured to a man’s house in Los Angeles promised parties, drugs or modeling opportunities, only to end up in life or death situations. One witness recalled the words of David Brian Pierce to police, quote, dead girls don’t talk. If you want to hear the full case and all the disturbing details, join us on Patreon starting at just $3 a month at patreon.com loveandmurder but this case is actually part of our very exclusive tier. That’s $10 a month and above. At, uh, that tier, you get two bonus episodes a month and the monthly deadly duo series. And so much more. Patreon.com loveandmurder and also with this episode, I’m gonna do a little behind the scenes. Cause I gotta talk to my lambs about my life right now. So if you want some of that, that’s also some of the extras that you get into Patreon. So if you’re already into Patreon, just listen to the end and we’re gonna have a conversation. Now, without further ado, grab your butts, grab your glass of apple juice, and let’s get into today’s case of love and murder. Now, um, before we actually get into the case, to understand this entire messy story, I’m going to tell you the names of everyone who was involved in some form or Fashion. So the first person is Seth Tyler Jackson, who was just 15 years old. He was born in January 1996. He lived in Bellevue, Florida and dreamed of one day becoming a UFC fighter. Friends and family described him as a kind hearted animal lover who liked four wheeling and hanging out with his friends. But like most teenagers, he got caught up in a messy relationship that turned toxic. Amber Elizabeth wright was also 15 and was Seth’s ex girlfriend. They started dating in December 2010 and broke up about three months later. In March 2011 after Seth, Amber started dating 18 year old Michael Shane Bargo Jr. He carried a gun, already had a record for theft and had developed an intense hatred for Seth. Charlie k. Ely was 18 at the time and a friend of Amber’s. She lived in a mobile home in Summerfield. Kyle hooper was Amber’s 16 year old brother and he lived at Charlie’s place with Michael and another friend. Kyle had his own issues with Seth, especially after walking in on him with a girl Kyle liked. Justin Soto, who everyone called Roach, was 20 years old and was also living at Charlie’s house. And finally there was James Young Havens III, Amber and Kyle’s 37 year old stepfather. Okay, so those are the people in this case. I mentioned it first because there’s a lot of people involved. So now let’s get back into the case. During the 911 call, Sonja mentioned, uh, threatening messages Seth had exchanged with Michael Bargo. Police first treated Seth’s disappearance as a possible runaway case, which is standard for teenagers. But with the information Sonya gave combined with the tension between Seth and Michael, this pushed detectives to dig a little deeper. They started interviewing family and friends, collecting Seth’s belongings and tracing his last known movement. The tension between Seth, Amber and Michael had been simmering for weeks before it finally exploded. After Seth and Amber broke up in March 2011, the hostility between them spilled out onto Facebook. Seth accused her of cheating and called her a, quote, slut. Amber shot back with quote, you continuously write sh about me. To which Seth said, quote, I said I was done with you and you should be done with me. Things only got uglier from there with Seth even accusing Amber of using meth. Michael fed off this drama and took it further. He believed that Seth had abused Amber and his hatred grew even more. Side note, Seth had never abused Amber. Seth’s mother once overheard Michael telling her son, quote, I have a bullet with your name on it. In early April, Michael had even fired shots at Seth and and a friend outside Charlie’s house, supposedly to Scare them off. During the search for Seth, investigators checked hospitals, jails, and even issued a BOLO alert with Seth’s description. Search teams canvassed places he was known to frequent. Then everything changed. On April 19, Kyle’s mother called police after her son told her something about Seth. They that single call turned the investigation from a missing person case into a homicide. Kyle had told his mother about a murder at Charlie’s house. Accompanied by his mother, Kyle told Marion county sheriff’s office detectives that quote, he, his sister and friends had planned a crime and lured Seth to his death. He also said they planned this at Charlie’s house on the Sunday of the murder. And he admitted to hitting Seth with a stick and telling him to, quote, get the bleep out of the house. Then he said he witnessed Michael shoot Seth eight times. After the murder, Kyle helped Amber and Charlie clean up the house with bleach and watch them burn, uh, Seth’s body in the backyard fire pit until the early hours of the morning. So with that information, investigators focused their search on Charlie’s trailer and also an abandoned lime rock quarry where Kyle had said Seth’s remains might be. In the meantime, they also arrested Kyle, Amber and Charlie and put them in a hole in cell. They couldn’t find Michael at the time. During the search of Charlie’s trailer, they found partial remains in a burn pit. Forensic anthropologists from the University of Florida uncovered bone fragments and burnt human tissue in the pit. They also found a.22 caliber murder weapon and ammunition that had been hidden in the trailer. Ballistic experts confirmed that bullets found at the scene matched those that would have been fired from the recovered weapon. Charlie’s DNA was found in a blood mixture in the bathroom. And Kyle’s DNA in the living room was mixed with Seth’s blood and Michael’s DNA on the kitchen ceiling foundation further implicated the group. Then, on April 20, in the lime rock pit in Ocala, the dive team found three five gallon paint buckets which contained Seth’s remains. Two of these containers were found with cinder blocks tied to them at the bottom of the quarry. Cinder blocks. Michael, who had fled with 37 year old James Young Haven III to Stark, Florida, was, was arrested the next day. Secondly, he, uh, had proudly blabbed about the murder in graphic detail to four separate family members and a neighbor, even bragging about breaking Seth’s knees. Now, those who have been with me since day one, what do we always say about if you’re going to commit a crime, if you’ve committed a crime, or if you’re in the process of committing a crime, tell everybody you know and everybody you don’t, make sure you have as much evidence as possible on your person or around your person. That’s what we say in this show, and that’s what Michael was doing. Amber Wright, Michael Bargo, Kyle Hooper, Justin Soto and Charlie Ealy were arrested and charged with first degree murder. James was charged as an accessory. He wasn’t directly involved in the killing, but he was arrested because he’d helped Michael get out of town and get rid of Seth’s remains. Charlie’s trial started in September 2011, and this is where we’re going to hear the entire story. She said that by mid April, the hostility between Michael and Seth had reached a breaking point. On April 17, 2011, Michael pulled in Kyle, Justin, Charlie and Amber to help him with his plan. Amber was the one who would reach out to Seth and get him to show up. That night, Amber’s text to Seth suddenly took on a softer tone. Instead of the insults and fighting they’d grown used to, she told him she wanted to work things out and maybe get back together. One of her messages read, I swear you’re not Seth. I could never do that to you. I just want me and you back. This was in response to Seth Texan quote, Amber, if you have me jumped, I will never give you the time of day. So if I get jumped, say Goodbye. All right, Ms. M. Pretty. But Amber’s reassurances eventually wore him down. By the time he decided to go, the others were already waiting at Charlie’s home. On the night of April 17, 2011, at approximately 9:30pm, Seth walked into Charlie’s house. The mobile home was chosen because Charlie had inherited it from her grandparents. It was in a rural area with barely any nearby neighbors and offered the privacy they needed. Before he’d gotten there, the group had removed the furniture and laid down plastic sea thin. Then, uh, they prepared a fire pit outside. If this isn’t premeditated murder, I don’t know what is. As soon as Seth stepped inside, Michael started the attack with Justin and Kyle right behind him. Seth was struck in the head and shot multiple times, but he fought back, trying desperately to escape. Wounded and terrified, he made it outside, but the group caught him and dragged him back in. Inside, he was shot again and dumped in the bathtub, where his attackers thought he might finally die. But Seth was still alive, so Michael shot him again to make sure he was dead. They then broke his knees to force his body into a sleeping bag, carried him out back and Burned him in a fire pit. Once his body was reduced to ashes, they scooped the remains into paint buckets and dumped them in the nearby quarry. During her testimony, Charlie said that she only helped lure Seth to the house because Michael had threatened her life, claiming it was a gun pointed at her face. However, what she didn’t know was that while her, Kyle and Amber were in the Holden cell, police were recording everything they talked about. They played this recording in court. During this conversation, Kyle said that Seth deserved to die. He also asked Amber why, when she said, you know how many people are going to f and hate us for this? There’s a f ing 15 year old kid murdered because of us. Prosecutors also played a video recording of Charlie’s interrogation by detective Donald Bowie. In it, she admitted to knowing Seth wasn’t going to leave her house alive. On September 23, 2011, the jury found Charlie guilty of first degree murder, and she was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. She received a life sentence primarily because the murder happened at her house. Prosecutors argued that she was an active participant, claiming she helped clean up afterwards, although evidence of her direct involvement to the killing remained minimal. At 19, Charlie was the youngest female ever sentenced to life without parole in Florida. Next was Justin Soto, who on May 30, 2012, the then 21 year old pleaded guilty to first degree murder. To avoid a potential death penalty, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Amber and Kyle’s joint trial started in June and ended in August. They were both tried as adults for first degree murder. Even though their cases were heard at the same time, each had their own six person jury. Prosecutors argued that Amber was just as responsible as the ones who physically attacked Seth, because without her manipulation, Amber, he would never have walked into that house. Jurors heard their taped confessions along with their recording from the holding cell. On, uh, August 22, 2012, Judge David Eady handed down life sentences without parole to both Amber and Kyle, calling it, quote, the single most cold, calculated, premeditated case of murder he had ever seen. In court, Sonya turned to Amber and said, amber, we hope that guilt eats you inside and out, knowing that you caused this. Seth would have never been at that house without your manipulation. Michael Bargo was the last to stand trial, which started on August 13, 2013 and ended in December. Prosecutor Amy Bernd identified that Michael was the ringleader and mastermind of the entire murder. She said that he wanted Seth, uh, dead and described the brutality in detail. From the 20 foot Flames of the fire pit to Michael using pliers to pull Seth’s teeth from his skull, the state pushed hard for the death penalty. Now, remember when I said that he blabbed about the murder? Well, he told an out of town girlfriend, her brother, her father, her father’s girlfriend, and even her father’s neighbor. Then two inmates reported that Michael had also confessed to them while. While he was in jail. This dude is telling everybody what he did. He is so proud of what he did. No remorse whatsoever. One of the inmates, William Falkler, testified that Michael had described the crime in detail while they shared a hold in cell. According to William, Michael admitted to hitting seth with a 2×4, taunting him, then shooting him three times before burning the body behind the house. So basically sounds consistent to what we’ve been hearing. Another witness testified that Michael had come to her House on April 18, 2011, and admitted to the murder. Initially, she thought he was joking, but when Michael described beating Seth with a board, shooting him eight times, and disposing of his body in a sleeping bag before burning and mutilating it, she realized he was telling the truth. The medical examiner, Dr. Kyle Shaw, determined the cause of death was a combination of gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma, Basically aligning with the confessions and physical evidence collected by investigators. Michael took the stand in his own defense. But prosecutor Berndt, quote, eviscerated him on cross examination. Oh, uh, he thought he was smart. And she showed him that he wasn’t smarter than a fifth grader. On August 27, 2013, the jury came back with a 10 to 2 vote recommending death. By December 2013, Michael was officially sentenced to death, Making him the youngest person on Florida’s death row. And at just 21 years old. Now, the legal battles for Seth’s killers didn’t end with their original convictions. Amber’s case was overturned because investigators hadn’t properly read her her miranda rights. What? The loopholes and intricacies of the law. She had confessed twice, but the court ruled her second confession couldn’t be used since it came from right after an improperly obtained first one. What the. So she was released. That’s crazy. But she was retried in early 2016, and on January 15, the jury took just two hours to convict her again of first degree murder. She showed no emotion when the verdict was read. On February 23, 2016, she was sentenced back to life in prison, but this time with the possibility of parole after 25 years. As of now, she’s still incarcerated at Homestead correctional institution and should be eligible for parole starting in 2041. I don’t understand that you had her confession. She said she didn’t, but then y’ all were like, well, you know, you didn’t read her. Uh, Miranda is. That’s complete bull crap. Kyle’s sentence was also thrown out on June 2, 2014, after the US Supreme Court ruled mandatory life without parole for juveniles was unconstitutional. He was later resentenced to life with parole possible after 25 years and should be eligible for parole starting in 2039. He’s serving his time at Sumter Correctional Institute. Then in June 2020, Charlie’s fate changed when a federal judge ruled her trial attorney had been ineffective. Her defense said that investigators questioned her for hours without legal representation. Present her statements during the interrogation became critical evidence. But did she fully understand her rights then? Multiple witnesses offered conflicting accounts. When it came to Charlie’s role in the murder. Some co defendants claimed she actively participated. But others suggested that she was uninvolved in planning or executing the murder. Throughout her case, Charlie maintained that she neither participated in nor witnessed the murder. She said that she was threatened by the perpetrator, who warned her that she would be killed if she didn’t keep her mouth shut. The federal court recognized that uncontroverted evidence demonstrated that she was not the one who lured Seth to the house. The court ended up acknowledging that the state failed to prove Charlie took any act that assisted in the murder. So in June 2020, she was granted a new trial after nine years behind bars. But instead of going through it, she accepted a plea deal. Guilty to second degree murder with a 10 year sentence. Before accepting this plea, she informed circuit judge Anthony Tati that she had been treated for bipolar disorder and depression and anxiety. So none of that leads you to becoming a murderer or assisting in murder or helping clean up after a murder, or becoming an accessory to murder or witnessing a murder without telling somebody, or knowing about a murder without reporting it. So I don’t know why she told him that. Since she had already served more than nine years plus earned additional credit for good behavior, she qualified for immediate release. To me, that doesn’t seem like she was remorseful about either helping in it, witnessing it, witnessing it, uh, and not telling anybody about it, or knowing about it and still not telling anybody about it. So it’s just like, even if you didn’t do it, even if you didn’t witness it, there’s still other factors to go into. And it still doesn’t sound like she’s remorseful because she’s like, wait, before I accept this plea deal, I just want you to know that I’m bipolar, depressive, and, and have anxiety, like. So. Anyway, she was released on June 17, 2020, at, uh, 27 years old. Her attorney, Jose Baez, called it a bittersweet day, claiming the facts showed that she was innocent. I hear you, but she’s not innocent in the fact that she didn’t run to the police as soon as this happened and tell them. But then I guess you could argue that Michael put a gun to her face and said if you said anything so she could have been fearful. After the hearing, Charlie’s mother declined comment, but Seth’s mother said that she was, quote, stunned and saddened by the development, requiring time to process the news before making additional statements. Charlie said that despite her happiness about going home, there was, quote, really nothing to celebrate. She acknowledged the tragedy for the Jackson family through her attorney. Quote, this case is a perfect example of be careful who you hang around with. Charlie was mixed up with the wrong group of people. Her crime was being present at the scene. She is just a victim of being present. After her release, Charlie has kept a low profile and later married Joseph David Burham. James and Amber were found incompetent to stand trial, incompetent to stand trial in 2012, but was later ruled competent in 2017. What the. Okay, well, they didn’t go much into James, so I don’t know. Okay. I was going to say something like, what could he possibly be incompetent for? But they never went really into him, so I don’t know much about him. On March 20, 2018, he pled guilty to accessory after the fact for helping dispose of Seth’s remains. It’s unclear if he ever served time. As for Michael Bargo, his death sentence went through years of Appeals. The U.S. supreme Court required a new penalty phase because his first jury vote wasn’t unanimous. In April 2019, his second jury unanimously recommended death, gave him the middle finger, and then the judge officially reimposed the sentence in September. They didn’t give him the middle finger. In 2021, the Supreme Court upheld it. He remains on death row at, uh, Union Correctional Institution. The murder of Seth Jackson is a case that shows the deadly consequences of teenage anger spiraling out of control. But take note that this is unchecked, unsupervised teenage anger. In my opinion, teenagers still need supervision. I know there are some people out there who think, you know, you’re teenagers, so you know what’s right and, and you know right from wrong. Uh, and you need to start living as an adult. They’re still children. They still need supervision. Not just going out to adults home at all times of the day and night and living alone and going out and hanging with all kind of adults and stuff like that. Teenagers have raging hormones and raging emotions. Back in the day. They were getting married at 15, 16. That was back in the day when they were adults and had jobs and had children. And that’s different from today with all these raging hormones and raging emotions. These are the times that it’s critical that they need to learn how to control themselves, as everyone else needs to learn. My question is, how do we teach this lesson? That’s my question to you. So let me know your ideas in the comments below. Also, tell me what you thought about this case below. You can also put you can also post your thoughts in the Patreon community. You can also post your thoughts in the Patreon community. You can sign up for free to post your comments. And also I’ve posted video of the interrogations for this case in the Patreon. So go ahead and join. And the video of the interrogations, oh my God, you don’t want to miss it. It’s like an hour and some and it’s the interrogation from everybody involved in this case. Uh, it’s, it’s really intense. And the narrator also talks about the psychology behind everything that’s going on. I really like this video. You get that as part of the extras at the $3 tier and above. So if you just sign up for $3 you can see this interrogation video. It’s the interrogation of Charlie, of Michael, of all of them. Patreon.com uh, forward/loveandmurder and remember, this show is completely listener funded. That means your support keeps these stories alive. Head over to patreon.com loveandmurder and join the lamb fam. Starting at just $3 a month, you’ll unlock ad free episodes, early release episodes, bonus cases, case extras, and more. Like our serial killer corner where we just covered the case of David Brian Pierce. Patreon.com uh, loveandmurder Now I did tell you in the beginning that I was gonna talk about some behind the scenes stuff with me and this is just for the LaM Patreon fam and Patreon. So I know y’ all saw Friday’s episode went out late on Friday and some of my episodes are going out late. Oh my God. My daughter is now in college. How does it feel like I’m in college? I have not had sleep. I am so tired. I am too old for this I already did college. I already did college. Oh, my God. She doesn’t drive yet, so I’m the one taking her to and from her classes and her class scheduled this semester. This is her first semester and it’s crazy. So. Since when don’t they let you pick your class schedule anymore? They just give it to you. Is that the new college thing? Look, I went to college a long time ago, so I don’t know how it is now, but is that the new thing? Uh, like the people who are younger than me? Is that what happened to you? Because her schedule is all over the place and I have to drive her to and from the And that’s all I have for you today. Thank you for listening all the way to the end. Thank you for your support. And as I end each full episode, I want to remind you that it’s say it with me now. All love and no murder, y’. All. And I’ll see you in the next episode. Bye, Sam.