Bio

Donald Lee Jackson Jr. was born on August 3, 1956, By adulthood, Jackson was living in Columbus, Ohio, where he became involved in a criminal lifestyle that centered on theft, robbery, and other serious offenses. Prior to the murder of Michelle Marie Seagraves, he had already accumulated a significant criminal record, including a federal conviction for armed bank robbery that resulted in a prison sentence.

After his release, he returned to Columbus and continued associating with individuals involved in criminal activity. By 1986, Jackson was residing on West Mound Street and was known to drive a white Corvette, a vehicle that would later become a critical piece of evidence in the investigation of Michelle Seagraves' kidnapping and murder. 

During this period, he maintained a close association with Stuart S. Kennedy, another career criminal with whom he planned and carried out criminal schemes. Investigators later determined that the pair had been searching for a vehicle to use in a future bank robbery and selected Seagraves as a victim solely because she possessed a suitable automobile. 

Rather than pursuing legitimate employment or a stable lifestyle, Jackson continued down a path of escalating criminal behavior that ultimately culminated in the kidnapping, robbery, and murder that would lead to his conviction and a sentence that effectively ensured he would spend the remainder of his life in prison.

Murder Story

On October 9, 1986, Michelle Marie Seagraves was abducted from the parking lot of an apartment complex in Columbus, Ohio, as she was getting into her blue Ford Granada. Her young son was still inside their home when she was taken. Donald Lee Jackson Jr. and Stuart S. Kennedy had been searching for a car to steal so they could use it in a bank robbery.

Witnesses later reported seeing Kennedy driving Seagraves’ Ford Granada while holding a woman down in the seat. Other witnesses saw a white Corvette following the Granada from Columbus toward Indiana. The Corvette’s license plate was traced to Jackson, which became one of the key pieces of evidence connecting him to the crime.

Jackson and Kennedy drove Seagraves approximately 135 miles to the Moores Hill area in Indiana. In a wooded location outside town, Seagraves was bound and killed. The autopsy showed that she had been strangled with a strap still around her neck and shot in the back of the neck, with the bullet passing through her head. Later reporting also described blunt-force injuries.

That same day, two men matching the descriptions of Jackson and Kennedy robbed the Peoples National Bank in Moores Hill. Seagraves’ Ford Granada was used as the getaway car. The robbers escaped with a large amount of money, later reported as more than $88,000.

Jackson was arrested at his home in Columbus, Ohio, while getting into the white Corvette. Officers recovered cash, a handgun, and a submachine gun from the vehicle. After his arrest, Jackson gave a confession and directed officers to Seagraves’ body. He also led police to bloody clothing worn by him and Kennedy, which had been discarded in a dumpster.

Jackson was convicted of murder, felony murder during robbery, felony murder during kidnapping, robbery, and kidnapping. On June 7, 1988, he was sentenced to death, along with consecutive prison terms for robbery and kidnapping.

On August 19, 1992, the Indiana Supreme Court set aside Jackson’s death sentence, finding that uncertainty over the identity of the actual triggerman made the death penalty improper in his case. On January 25, 1993, he was resentenced to 60 years for murder, consecutive to 50 years for robbery and 50 years for kidnapping, for a total sentence of 160 years imprisonment.