21-04-2025
Mom murdered beside 5-year-old son and boyfriend texted suspect's name as she lay dying: cops
An Alabama mother who was murdered alongside her 5-year-old son and her boyfriend managed to text the name of their alleged killer moments before her death, according to detectives.
Arkia 'Kia' Berry, 28, texted her friend as she lay dying beside her son, Landyn Brooks, and her 28-year-old boyfriend, Eric Ashley Jr, when their vehicle was blasted with bullets, AL Live reported.
The dying hairdresser texted 'Jaco' — the nickname of Jacorian Deshawn McGregor, the man now charged with capital murder for the triple slaying last July, police told a preliminary hearing Thursday.
'She texted his name right before she died,' Det. Jarvelius Tollivero said.
4 Berry texted the word 'Jaco' shortly before she was found dead alongside her son, seen here, and her boyfriend, cops said.
Facebook / Kiaa Berry
Police initially received a 911 call about a car accident in the Echo Highlands neighborhood of Birmingham, leading them to the three bodies inside the car, according to the report.
Detectives then found Berry's text as well as others from McGregor's friends telling him to 'lay low, stay out of sight, say hidden,' Tolliver said.
4 Jacorrian 'Jaco' McGregor is charged with the triple slaying.
Jefferson County Jail
Berry's boyfriend, Ashley, had also made a phone call to a contact he had saved as 'Jaco' as he seemingly made plans to meet up with him just before the shooting, the detective said.
Facebook records also showed Ashley had previously searched for McGregor's page, the outlet reported. It was not clear how the suspect was connected to the victims.
Officers were also investigating the theft of a green Kia, which was set on fire shortly after the shooting and was spotted near Berry's car on camera footage, Tolliver said.
'We believe some sort of interaction took place between the occupants of the victims' vehicle and the suspects' vehicle,' police officer Truman Fitzgerald had previously told the outlet.
4 Phone records showed Berry's boyfriend, Eric Ashley Jr, had called McGregor before the triple homicide.
Facebook / Kiaa Berry
McGregor was not arrested until late February. Guns and drugs were found at his residence during a search, Birmingham police said.
He appeared before Jefferson County District Judge William Bell on Thursday for capital murder charges and is being held without bond, the outlet reported.
4 Landyn Brooks, 5, played football and was set to begin kindergarten in the fall.
Facebook / Kiaa Berry
Berry worked as a hairstylist, and her son, Brooks, played football and was set to begin kindergarten in the fall, the outlet reported.
Aniya Berry, Arkia's cousin, called the mother-son duo were like 'two peas in a pod,' WVTM reported.
