In April 2011, a teenager went missing out of the blue and police were looking for leads.
But they soon learned of a frightening change that led to a sad discovery. In the latest episode of “Sleeping With a Killer” on Lifetime, we find out what happened to Seath Jackson in Florida and how he was supposed to be killed in a house. So if you want to know what happened, we’ll tell you.
How did Seath Jackson die?
Seath Jackson was born in January 1996 to Sonia and Scott Jackson. He had two brothers. People said he was a nice boy who wanted to fight in the UFC. Seath enjoyed hanging out with his many friends and riding four wheels with his family. He also liked animals. At the time of the accident, Seath had just broken up with Amber Wright, who was his girlfriend when they were both teenagers.
On April 18, 2011, Seath’s parents said he was missing because they had not heard from him. The next day, authorities received a tip that sadly ended the search. In a flooded quarry in Ocala, Florida, they found Seath’s burned body parts in paint buckets weighed down with cinder blocks. Pieces of bone were found in a burn pit at a house in Summerfield, Florida. Investigators determined that Seath had been beaten and shot in the head with a .22 caliber gun before his body was burned.
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Who Killed Seath Jackson?
Sometime in December 2010, Seath Jackson and Amber Wright began dating, but they split in March 2011. Prior to what happened, they had publicly feuded on Facebook. The investigation revealed that Amber, who was 15 at the time, was dating Michael Bargo, who was 18 at the time. William Samalot, one of Seath’s friends, later said that Michael was wrong to think Seath hurt Amber. So the two teenagers didn’t like each other.
At the time, Michael, Justin Soto, and then 16-year-old Kyle Hooper all lived in the home of Charlie Ely (then 20). Amber, Kyle’s sister, often stayed with us. On April 19, 2011, Kyle and Amber’s mother told police that Seath had been killed at Charlie’s home. She heard about it from Kyle. So the police rushed to this house because they wanted to find out who killed Seath.
The inquest found that Michael Seath had told Seath that he would kill him a week before the murder. Kyle was also mad at Seath for finding Seath in bed with a girl he liked. Court records show that Kyle sent this girl a message about Seath’s murder. On April 17, Michael told Kyle and the others about his plan to kill Seath. Amber would try to get Seath to come to the house where Justin, Michael and Kyle would attack him.
William Samalot said that he and Seath were at a friend’s house on April 17, but went their separate ways at 9:15 p.m. when Seath left to go to Charlie’s house. Amber and Seath texted each other that evening, showing that she had asked him to come over so they could work things out and get back together. Amber and Charlie were with Seath and the three went to Charlie’s house.
It was then revealed that Kyle hit Seath in the head with something hard and Michael shot him with a .22 gun. Seath ran out of the house because he was hurt, and Amber and Charlie hid in another room. Then Justin Seath attacked in the front yard, where Michael shot the 15-year-old again. Seath was carried back inside and placed in the bath by three men.
In order for Seath to fit into a sleeping bag, his kneecaps were fractured. Seeing that Seath was still alive, Michael punched him and shot him several more times, including in the face. After that, the corpse was placed in a fireplace and burned. The next morning, Michael and Justin went to a quarry in Ocala. James Havens, Amber and Kyle’s stepfather, drove her there. Seath’s body parts were placed in buckets of paint and thrown into the water, where they were held in place by concrete blocks.
Kyle had used bleach to help Amber and Charlie clean around the house. But there was still evidence. The .22 caliber gun was used to kill the person because a bullet from the gun was found inside the body. Charlie’s DNA was found in a blood mix in the bathroom, and Kyle’s DNA was found in a blood mix containing Seath’s blood that was in the living room. Also, Michael’s DNA was found in blood on the kitchen ceiling.
DNA tests showed that the bones in the quarry and those in the fireplace came from the same person. It was then confirmed that the remains were of Sonia and Scott’s real son. Also, Michael had told various people different stories about how he got into a fight, killed a child, and then burned the body. In one version of the story, he said he did it because the boy raped his sister. In another, the boy raped his girlfriend.
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Where is Amber Wright right now?
The police quickly caught all five, and they all faced different punishments themselves. Both Amber and Kyle were convicted of first-degree murder in June 2012. But Amber went to court for a second trial in early 2016, which also ended in the same verdict. The judge then sentenced her to life imprisonment. Charlie and Justin were also sentenced to life in prison, but Charlie’s conviction was overturned in 2020, allowing him to plead guilty to a lesser charge and get out of prison. Michael was given the death penalty because he was responsible. Amber is still being held at Homestead Correctional Institution in Miami-Dade County, Florida, according to prison records.
If you remember, in one of my previous blogs where I talked about ten of my favorite true crime documentaries and series, I mentioned a series by Piers Morgan called Killer Women. I hope you all enjoyed this blog and checked out some of my tips! In this series, Piers speaks to women convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Amber Wright’s murder of Seath Jackson was the one crime in Killer Women that really caught my attention and stood out from the rest. This horrific murder was shocking because it was the result of a strange love triangle that resulted in the death of 15-year-old Seath Jackson. What I find interesting about this case is that Seath’s death may have been planned by the woman involved, although she did not kill Seath herself.
Before his death, Seath was a normal teenager living in the Florida town of Summerfield. His parents said he was friendly, outgoing, funny and very popular with girls. Seath began dating Amber Wright when they were both in high school. Seath’s parents didn’t think much of her because although she looked like a “typical teenager,” they thought she was manipulative. Amber and Seath’s relationship was bad for both of them and didn’t last long. It ended because she cheated on him. Seath was upset to find out Amber had been seeing 18-year-old Michael Bargo. He even challenged Michael to a fight, which Michael accepted. Even though Seath was older than the other person, it looks like he won that fight. During Amber and Seath’s split, they fought back and forth on social media, posting hurtful things about each other for everyone to see. Amber and Michael Bargo began dating not long after.
Amber and Michael went to a friend’s house one night and Michael reportedly said, “We have to kill Seath Jackson. Nobody likes him, so we have to kill him.” After initial doubts, everyone agreed and started to come up with a plan. So the story goes, Amber was supposed to lure Seath to her boyfriend Charlie Ely’s house where he would be shot and tortured. Investigators later found that Seath almost got away from this bad plan alive because he actually got out of Charlie Ely’s house and almost made it to the street. But Seath was shot again and taken back into the house. Then he was dragged into the bathroom and shot one last time. Seath was dead after the third shot. It was said that Michael Bargo then suggested that the group break Seath’s kneecaps with a baseball bat because he wanted to find a way to put the body in a sleeping bag. Michael eventually got a hammer and broke Seath’s kneecap. He also used pliers to pull out Seath’s teeth. Investigators say Amber, Michael and others then burned Seath’s body as if it were a bonfire for a party. They sat around and drank, partied and partied all night.
When Seath didn’t come home that night or even call his parents, they knew immediately something was wrong. Seath’s mother knew he would always call her to let her know where he was. When he didn’t, she called the police to report him missing. The next day, Seath’s disappearance made the local news, and while Amber Wright’s brother Kyle and mother Tracey looked on, Kyle told his mother that he knew Seath was dead and that he was involved. This prompted her to call the police immediately. Kyle was one of six teenagers arrested for killing Seath Jackson.
Whenever a suspect was questioned, he or she was quick to blame someone else. Because of this, investigators were able to piece the whole story together in the end. The plan was that Charlie would surprise Ely, Kyle Hooper and Justin Soto Seath at Charlie’s house. Amber’s job was to get him there. She texted Seath and asked him to meet at Charlie’s. Seath was nervous because he thought Michael would “jump at him”. But Amber reassured Seath by saying, “It would be just the two of us.” As previously stated, Seath was hit in the head and shot several times when he got there. The day after the murder, Michael, Amber, Charlie, Kyle, Justin, and James placed Seath’s cremated remains in three 5-gallon paint buckets, took them to a nearby quarry, and dumped them in the water. After two days, each of the six suspects was caught.
Although the suspects were minors, they all ended up being tried as adults. At separate trials, Amber Wright, Charlie Ely, and Kyle Hooper were all found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of getting out. James Havens was an accomplice to the murder and received ten years in prison. Justin Soto pleaded guilty and also received a life sentence. Michael Bargo was sentenced to death for his crimes.
Although Michael Bargo was the one who killed Seath Jackson, some people say that Amber was the one most responsible for his death. Many people have said that Seath would still be alive today if it weren’t for Amber playing her part and manipulating him. But no matter who planned this murder, the fact is that it was a gruesome, horrific, and downright shocking crime committed by a few heartless teenagers. If you want to learn more about this case, you can watch Killer Women Episode 2 on Netflix.
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