Elderly, Disabled Man Charged With Dismembering Woman
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) A trail of blood down a sidewalk, in a lobby and elevator led Detroit police to the doorstep of an elderly, disabled man who was charged in connection with a grisly dismemberment.
Alphonso Douglas Jackson, 72, of Detroit, was charged Monday with disinterment of a body, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of a person at an east side senior citizen's home. Jackson, who was arraigned at 1 p.m. Monday in 36th District Court, is being held in the psych ward as he awaits trial.
"If you don't know how somebody died, the coronors put it down as homicide, now that means something else is possible -- But until they figure out exactly how she died, I don't see how they can charge him," said defense attorney Donald Cooks.
Jackson was ordered held on a $2 million bond.
Officers allegedly discovered him in his kitchen at 5 a.m. Friday in the 800 block of Dickerson after they were called there on a welfare check. A woman's body was in the bathtub, police said.
"When the officers arrived they observed blood on the sidewalk, inside the lobby and in elevator of the building," Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in the release. "The police investigation led to an Jackson's apartment where more blood was observed."
When the police entered his apartment it is alleged the dismembered body of a woman was found in Jackson's bathroom. Jackson, who reportedly uses a wheelchair, was placed under arrest.
Worthy said the police investigation is "ongoing."
Disinterment and tampering both carry possible penalties of 10 years in prison; a concealing death conviction carries five years.
