8th suspect charged in heinous torture, murder of Birmingham mother Mahogany Jackson
An eighth suspect has been charged in the slaying of a young Birmingham mother who was held against her will and tortured for hours before she was fatally shot.
Ariana Lashay Robinson, 23, is charged with felony murder – kidnapping in the killing of 20-year-old Mahogany Jackson. Jackson leaves behind a toddler daughter.
Robinson was booked into the Birmingham City Jail at 2:40 p.m. Thursday. Warrants against were issued Friday afternoon.
Authorities said Robinson was among the suspects seen in videos recorded during Jackson’s time in captivity. With help from the community, police said, she was identified early in the investigation as potentially being involved.
Lewis was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 2:43 p.m. Friday where she will be held without bond.
Charges against seven other people were announced earlier this week.
Brandon Pope, 24, Francis Harris, 25, and Jeremiah McDowell, 18, are charged with capital murder during a first-degree kidnapping and capital murder during first-degree sodomy.
Jeremiah McDowell, Francis Harris, and Brandon Pope are charged with capital murder in the murder of 20-year-old Mahogany Jackson.(Birmingham City Jail)
McDowell made his first court appearance before District Judge William Bell Friday morning. He shook his as the judge read his charges to him.
McDowell said he did not have the money to hire an attorney, so he will be appointed one.
Giovannie Clapp, 23, and Blair Green, 25, are charged with felony murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sodomy.
Teja Lewis, 26, is charged with felony murder.
Si’Niya McCall, 23, is charged with felony murder, first-degree kidnapping, and first-degree sodomy.
Lewis and Clapp are also charged with second-degree assault for pistol-whipping Jackson.
At the time of her arrest, Lewis was already out on bond from a previous charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied building. A woman was inside that residence at the time.
That incident happened May 26, 2022. A judge has now revoked her bond in that case following the new charges in Jackson’s death.
Mahogany Jackson, 20, messaged her mother early Sunday, saying, “Send the police apt 3 held hostage don’t call.’’ She also sent her location to her sister.
Her nude body was found in Monday’s predawn hours under a mattress in an illegal dumping site in the 1700 block of Laurel Avenue in southwest Birmingham. She had been shot at least one time.

Birmingham police investigate the kidnapping and murder of young Birmingham mother Mahogany Jackson.(Carol Robinson)
At least part of the sexual assault on Jackson was video recorded. Police Chief Scott Thurmond said that video played a pivotal role in the investigation and the subsequent charges.
Some of those videos have made their way onto social media, prompting Jackson’s mother, Gail Maddox, to issue a plea on Facebook for people to stop sending them to the family.
“That’s my child. Please stop. I can’t take it,’’ she wrote.
Birmingham police Chief Scott Thurmond called Jackson’s murder one of the worst he’s seen in his law enforcement career.
“It was absolutely disgusting,” Thurmond said.
Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr described it as heinous and unimaginable.
“The actions displayed by these defendants were barbaric and have no place in society,’’ Carr said. “The senseless and inhumane treatment perpetuated on young Mahogany Jackson was very disturbing and violent.”

Family and friends gathered for a vigil at a Birmingham apartment complex where 20-year-old Mahogany Jackson was held before she was tortured, sexually assault and murdered on Feb. 25, 2024.(Carol Robinson)
Family and friends gathered Thursday evening at the apartment complex where Jackson was initially held against her will.
Here sister, Jazmyne Maddox, said Jackson would be stunned at outpouring of emotion and support from the community following her death.
“She wouldn’t believe this,’’ Maddox said. “She would be like, ‘Really? This is for me?”
Jackson’s Celebration of Life is set for Saturday, March 9.