Bio

Melvin David Rees Jr. was born in 1928. In the early 1950s, he attended the University of Maryland in College Park, which is close to Washington, D.C. He showed a talent for music and played the saxophone, piano, and clarinet. Rees dropped out of university before finishing his degree. He wanted to focus on his career in music and often played jazz in local nightclubs around the D.C. area.

In 1955, Melvin Rees was arrested for attempting to assault a woman. He tried to force her into his car, but she managed to escape. Although the police were involved, the woman did not press charges, so the case against Rees was dropped. This incident was largely forgotten by his friends until later events caused them to rethink their perceptions of him.

After leaving university, Melvin pursued music full-time. He traveled around and performed in different venues. Friends and acquaintances saw him as a talented musician, but underlying troubles in his life remained hidden during this time.

Murder Story

On June 26, 1957, Melvin David Rees Jr. initiated his killing spree when he shot and killed Margaret Harold near Annapolis, Maryland. Margaret was with her boyfriend, a U.S. Army sergeant, when Rees forced them off the road. After demanding cigarettes and money, he shot Margaret point-blank in the face. The sergeant managed to escape and called the police, but Rees stayed long enough to sexually assault Margaret's body. Following this murder, authorities discovered an abandoned building near the crime scene containing disturbing images and a yearbook photo of a local college graduate. Margaret's murder quickly became a cold case.

On January 11, 1959, Rees struck again. Carroll Jackson and his family were driving home from a family visit in Virginia when he attacked them. He forced their car off the road, ordered them out at gunpoint, and tied them up. They went missing without a trace until two months later, when the bodies of Carroll Jackson and his youngest daughter, Janet, were found in a ditch. Carroll had been shot in the head, and Janet had suffocated beneath his body. Two weeks later, the bodies of Carroll's wife, Mildred, and five-year-old daughter, Susan, were discovered in a shallow grave. Both had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death.

In the aftermath of the Jackson family’s murder, investigators received a tip regarding Rees from an acquaintance who had previously discussed murder with him. The police initially struggled to locate Rees, who had moved from Maryland. Eventually, Rees was located in West Memphis, Arkansas, and arrested on June 24, 1960. A subsequent search of his home turned up critical evidence: a revolver linked to the murders and notes detailing the killings, which Rees had described in disturbing detail. He was identified by the sergeant who had witnessed Margaret Harold's murder.

Rees was convicted in Maryland for the murder of Margaret Harold and sentenced to life in prison in 1961. He was later tried in Virginia for the Jackson family murders, where he received a death sentence. However, this was commuted to life in prison in 1972. Rees died in prison in 1995. Investigators suspect he may have been responsible for several other unsolved murders during his active years.