Five Teens Broke The Victim's Kneecaps, Pulled Out His Teeth & Set Him on Fire

Six teens plan a gruesome murder. One lures the teen- her ex-boyfriend- to his death. The teens savagely beat the 15-year-old, break his kneecaps with a hammer, pull out his teeth with pliers, shoot him, and drag him back into the home when he manages to escape. The teens then fatally shoot him and burn his remains in a bonfire while they stood around drinking, using drugs, and living the night away. The group then shovels his charred remains into three, five-gallon buckets, dumping them into a river nearby one of their homes.

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Seath Jackson was an outgoing, charismatic, 15-year-old high school sophomore who loved UFC and making people laugh. Until 2011 when he began dating 15-year-old Amber Jackson, that is.

Describing their relationship as toxic downplays the tumultuous three-month fiasco. Together, Seath and Amber used cocaine and meth, drank alcohol, and constantly argued. Seath’s parents did not like Amber because they felt she manipulated their son.

Seath broke things off with Amber when he found out she cheated on him with 18-year-old Michael Bargo. Pissed off, Seath took to Facebook to talk trash about Amber, even calling her a slut. She saw the post, of course, and retaliated by arguing with Seath on social media and telling Michael that Seath hit her when they dated.

Seath, still hurt and heartbroken that Amber cheated on him, challenged Michael to a fight. Although smaller and younger than Michael, Seath got the best of him in the fight, further embarrassing Amber's new beau.

Michael Planned a Murder

Fast forward a few days and Michael still cannot get thoughts of the fight out of his mind. He was pissed off that Seath beat him up and wanted revenge. While he and Amber sat around talking with friends Justin Soto, Kyle Hooper, and James Hovers at Charlie Ely’s house, he suggested they kill Seath since “no one liked him” anyway.

They initially took the comment as a joke but soon realized Michael was serious; he wanted Seath dead. Not one of the six people had the mind to go to the police or tell their parents. Instead, they began planning a murder.

Amber Texted Seath to Meet Up

On April 17, 2011, Amber texted Seath saying she wanted to meet up to talk about getting back together. Seath did not feel comfortable and felt that something was up. He told Amber he felt like Michael was going to “jump him,” but agreed to meet her at Charles Ely’s house once she assured him she was the only person who would be there.

Kyle attacked Seath as soon as he saw him walking up the hill with Amber. Justin then joined in and began beating Seath. Not wanting to miss the fun, Michael rushed to the group and shot him.

The group dragged Seath into the home and continued their attack. Seath managed to escape from the home but Michael quickly realized he was gone and grabbed him as he reached the road.

Seath Dragged Back Into Home, Murdered

A neighbor witnessed Seath running toward the road and Michael drag him back. He assumed it was nothing more than a teenage fight and did not intervene. He had no way to know the group of six planned to kill the young man.

Michael tossed Seath’s body into the bathtub, firing a third fatal shot at the teen.

Michael decided to break Seath’s kneecaps with a hammer in order to fit his body inside a sleeping bag. Then, he used a pair of pliers to pull out Seath’s teeth. The group dragged Seath’s corpse outside and set it afire in a bonfire-like atmosphere with music playing in the background whilst they joked and lived the night away.

Burning human remains is not a fast process. The remains burned in the bonfire well into the next day. When the body had turned to ash, the group shoveled the remains into three five-gallon buckets, hauled them to the river, and dumped them down the stream.

Kyle Confesses to Murder

Seath’s mom knew immediately something was wrong when Seath didn’t return home that evening. Seath wasn’t perfect and did wrong like everyone else in this world, but was responsible and knew she would worry. He would’ve called. She immediately called the police to report him missing.

Kyle Hooper sat on the sofa with his mom two days later when the story of Seath’s disappearance aired on the news. In the movies, the killer never thinks twice about his crime but real life is much different. Kyle was riddled with guilt and immediately confessed that he and his friends has killed Seath. Kyle’s mom called the police and all six teens were charged with murder.

Convictions, Sentencing

Each teen blamed the other for the murder during interrogation, but ultimately, were all charged as adults and convicted. Michael Bargo was sentenced to death. Amber Wright, Kyle Hooper, and Charles Ely were found guilty of first-degree murder. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Justin Soto pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life. James Havens was sentenced to 10 years in prison as an accessory to murder.