Michael Wayne Jackson

Case record

Background

Michael Wayne Jackson was a 41-year-old former mental patient. He was a suspect in a three-state crime spree that set off a widespread manhunt. He had vowed not to be taken alive.

Jackson painted his face silver and black. He remained bearded and clad in the same clothes he was wearing when he was last seen, until his identification.

Hal Helterhoff, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in nearby St. Louis, said that Jackson shot himself in the head with the same shotgun he used throughout the rampage that began Sept. 22 and left three people dead.

The offence

Jackson was wanted for three slayings and a series of thefts and abductions across Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. He was accused of killing his probation officer, a grocer in Indianapolis and a motorist in Missouri. He was also accused of abducting five people and commandeering several vehicles.

The rampage began Sept. 22 and left three people dead.

Investigation

Police and residents focused on the hunt as the crime spree terrorized Wright City, a town of 1,200 people in eastern Missouri near St. Louis. Residents armed themselves and locked their doors for the first time in years.

Sergeant Walter Ryan of the Missouri Highway Patrol said a preliminary investigation indicated that Jackson had not suffered an earlier gunshot wound, as the police had believed. During the manhunt, the police had thought that Jackson had been wounded in a gun battle with two Wright City police officers Sept. 22 that left one officer wounded. Sergeant Ryan said today that this was not the case.

Arrest / Cornering

The barn was less than a quarter of a mile from where Jackson was last seen after the shootout.

The police focused on the barn about 6:20 P.M. Thursday after officers received a report that a man matching Jackson’s description was seen hitchhiking about 20 miles away earlier that day.

Four officers entered the barn about 6:30 P.M., said Hal Helterhoff of the F.B.I. One of the officers hit the ground when he heard a muffled shotgun blast, and the others fled, he said. Two shots were fired by the police at the barn so the remaining officer could escape.

Unaware that Jackson had committed suicide, the police used a bullhorn to try to coax him out. The police brought in two helicopters with searchlights and threw eight tear gas canisters inside as they plotted how they would enter the barn. The body was discovered in the loft.

Jackson apparently had not been too long in the barn, which was checked several times.

Trial

No trial information was provided.

Sentencing

No sentencing information was provided.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Jackson killed himself late Thursday night after he was cornered by the police in an abandoned barn.

His body was taken to St. Louis County Hospital for an autopsy.

Mr. Jackson was positively identified through fingerprints, Hal Helterhoff said.

Aftermath

Early today, Nelson Paul, a 28-year-old resident, stood outside a police command center and said: "We can finally unload our shotguns,"

and: "It's like having a load of bricks lifted from your shoulders."

Relief swept through the town today as word spread that Jackson, who had vowed not to be taken alive, was found dead. Sheila Cone, superintendent of the Wright City School District, said: "It's like being released from a trap. There's an overwhelming sense of relief."

Renda Bloebaum, a waitress at the 50’s Cafe, said: "It's been terrible around here, but now it's great. Everyone is just real happy that we can get back to living normal, that we won't have to deal with road blocks and all that, knowing that there's a maniac running around."

Other details

Jackson fled on foot into the woods west of Wright City after crashing a stolen Cadillac into a fence along Interstate 70 on Sept. 22. He had not been seen since the crash.

The United States Probation Office for the Southern District of Indiana was dedicated to the memory of U.S. Probation Officer Thomas E. Gahl, who was the first U.S. Probation Officer killed in the line of duty by a parolee. Tom was killed on September 22, 1986, by Michael Wayne Jackson, who had a life-long history of mental illness and random acts of violence.

The dedication stated that being pursued after a lengthy crime spree, which included two other murders and several kidnappings, Jackson ended his own life.

Tom took the oath of office as a U.S. Probation Officer on March 14, 1975, after working in the Indiana State Penitentiary, Michigan City, and the U.S. Penitentiary, Terre Haute, Indiana. He was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps as a 1st Lieutenant. He obtained a bachelor's degree from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, and a master's degree from Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana.

During his 11 years as a U.S. Probation Officer, Tom was known as a fair, well-mannered professional who treated everyone equally. He also enjoyed socializing with his colleagues at baseball games over a beer. Above all, Tom was a dedicated father and husband who enjoyed a full and contented family life with his wife, Nancy, and sons, Christopher and Nicholas.

The dedication concluded: "By dedicating the U.S. Probation Office for the Southern District of Indiana to Thomas E. Gahl, we desire to perpetuate his memory -- his many significant contributions to the work of this office, his genial personality and exemplary character -- and to express again, in a more permanent way, our deep and lasting affection for him."

Timeline

• September 22, 1986 — Jackson’s rampage began; he crashed a stolen Cadillac into a fence along Interstate 70 and fled on foot into the woods west of Wright City after the crash; a gun battle with two Wright City police officers occurred, with one officer wounded; Thomas E. Gahl was killed by Michael Wayne Jackson.
• March 14, 1975 — Thomas E. Gahl took the oath of office as a U.S. Probation Officer.
• October 2, 1986 — Jackson was cornered by police in an abandoned barn and committed suicide by shooting himself.