Stabbing leads to murder

A Marshall County woman died from a knife attack early Saturday, according to Sheriff Kenny Dickerson, and a suspect is in custody.

Erby Dean Jackson Jr., 35, who gave authorities an Arkansas address, is charged with murder in what the sheriff called “one of the most horrible scenes I have seen in my many years of law enforcement.”

The suspect was transferred to a jail outside the county due to crowding in the Marshall County Jail.

The name of the 30-year-old female victim has not been released.

Dickerson said 911 dispatch received a call about 1 a.m. September 5 to the Temperance Hill community. The caller said a pickup had struck a tree in a yard.

A white female was under the steering wheel of the black Ford 150 with what appeared to be one or more stab wounds to the chest, the sheriff said. The pickup was registered to a location on Williams Road.

The weapon appeared to be a hunting knife believed to have been purchased by the suspect at a sporting goods store in Memphis, Tenn., a few days prior to the stabbing.

Dickerson believes the victim was stabbed in a parking lot at Chewalla Primitive Baptist Church. She appeared to have driven off in the pickup at a high rate of speed, apparently seeking help. The vehicle struck a mound of dirt in the corner of the yard before hitting the tree, he said.

Dickerson said several hours later deputies located a white male suspect asleep on the porch of a nearby church.

“Our investigation revealed the suspect (Jackson) had been inside Chewalla Primitive Baptist Church one or more times and had taken a Bible from the church,” the sheriff said. “A hunting knife, believed to be the assault weapon, was found on a shelf inside the pulpit. A small wreath of flowers was on top of the pulpit where the pastor normally would have had his Bible.”

Dickerson said investigations point to the Memphis area where the two are believed to have spent prior days in a motel on Lamar Avenue. It is believed by investigators that the suspect and victim met on social media and got into a verbal altercation prior to the fatal stabbing.

Jackson is believed to be from Mountain Home, Ark., and was in Memphis while out on probation, Dickerson said.

He made an initial appearance in justice court Tuesday at 11 a.m., and bond was set at $3 million, the sheriff said.

Many hours were spent by investigators, deputies and Sheriff Dickerson in covering every detail that may be pertinent to the case, the sheriff said.