A peaceful midwestern community
Is rocked by a tragic murder.
There was a gunshot wound to the head.
I just remember laying down and crying.
[heather] my heart had been ripped out.
I couldn't believe that this was happening.
Who would want to hurt him?
[narrator] as authorities search for a suspect,
The investigation descends into the dangers of online dating.
You don't know who you're meeting up with.
It was a big fear.
Was this a date that went bad?
Was this a setup date as a robbery?
Lots of questions.
[narrator] the investigation will take a sharp turn
As rumors of a toxic romance come into focus...
Leading to the discovery of a disturbing betrayal
Fueled by desperation.
They punished him to protect themselves.
They needed each other to survive.
[gabrielle] I still cannot wrap my mind around
How you can be so close to somebody
And do something so horrific.
[music]
[narrator] a quiet community south of indianapolis,
Morgan county, indiana may best be known
For its family-friendly living.
[peter] morgan county's a small, rural area
About 30 minutes south of indianapolis.
It's a peaceful, quaint community
With not a lotta crime.
[narrator] but at 3 p.M. On September 13, 2019,
A local resident calls 911 in a panic.
[narrator] the caller reports
The victim is lying along a fence adjoining her property.
[narrator] investigators with
The morgan county sheriff's office
Are immediately dispatched to the scene.
[mark] I was on call, so I proceeded to the location.
This particular area was, was isolated.
It had one residence right off the road...
And the area was shaded by trees and thick brush.
The deceased person was in late stages of decomposition.
When we looked at the body,
It was difficult to even tell if it was a male or a female.
There was a gunshot wound to the head.
And I noticed that
The deceased's right pocket was pulled out.
So that automatically had us leadin' to believe
A possible robbery.
[steve] most people carry cell phones.
Most people have some kind of I.D. Or credit card or money.
So, the fact that there was really nothing there...
Led police to believe that, that maybe that was intended.
[mark] as we started lookin' at the scene,
We found seven .9 millimeter shell casings.
[camera snapping]
[mark] we determined that it was an automatic handgun
And possibly a glock,
Due to the indentions on the shell casings.
There was some blood found coming from
The top of the fence to the bottom.
There was some blood found on the rocks below the fence.
It was the hypothesis or assumption at the time
That the victim was going over the fence and then was shot.
[narrator] when investigators speak with the 911 caller,
She says she hadn't seen anything suspicious...
But she had heard something four days earlier.
She had gone to sleep on September 9th at 4:30,
And heard several gunshots.
But it was a rural area, so there's a lot of...
Target practicing and hunting,
Different people in that area shooting guns off,
So it wasn't uncommon.
[narrator] with no clear evidence
Pointing to who might be responsible,
Investigators focus on identifying their victim.
The body was transported to our morgan county morgue,
And then forensic pathologist
Did a autopsy on the deceased the next day.
The forensic pathologist determined that it was a male,
Probably in their twenties.
Approximately six two, six three.
[narrator] the pathologist confirms the victim died
From a single gunshot wound to the head.
[mark] they couldn't say exactly when,
But they just know the body had been out there for a few days.
We also were able to get fingerprints from the deceased
At the autopsy,
And those were put into what's called "afis".
We got a hit on the fingerprint
For a male out of jacksonville, illinois
Named alexander jackson.
[peter] the morgan county sheriff's office,
They were asking themselves questions like,
"what was this guy doin' out here,
And why was he killed?"
[music]
[narrator] born in illinois in 1996,
Alexander jackson had always been bright and brainy.
[lalonna] alex was born and raised in jacksonville.
He was a good kid, and he was really, really smart.
[gabrielle] alex was very outgoing, caring, bubbly.
I mean, when you think of somebody that would
Literally give you the shirt off their back,
I mean, that is him to a tee.
[jaylon] he loved science. Everything with plants, trees.
He would always hate seeing people
Cut trees down and everything.
He always just wanted to do what he could
To help the environment.
We called him "sid", "sid the science kid",
'cause he would have all these...
Like, facts that no one like...
What, why do you know that?
You know?
[heather] when he graduated high school,
He then decided to go to western university in illinois
To study environmental science.
[lalonna] one day his sophomore year of college there,
I guess there's a coming out day.
He had posted this, this post.
And said that, "I was gay."
[heather] he just really figured out who he wanted to be,
What he wanted to do,
And we were all just really proud of that.
[narrator] after sophomore year,
Alex decided to join his aunt in indianapolis.
[heather] alex moved in with me January of 2017.
He wanted to come here to spread his wings.
I was the person who just kinda introduced him to the scene.
The gay scene, you know, on mass ave.
[jaylon] he did drag and things like that.
He was havin' a lotta fun with that.
In July 2017,
He decided he wanted to get his own apartment.
And I was kinda sad when he decided to leave,
'cause I really enjoyed having him around,
But I was happy that he was findin' his way in life.
[music]
[narrator] but alex's plans for the future
Could come to a tragic end on an isolated stretch of road
Nearly 20 miles from home in indianapolis.
Once they got alex identified,
Then the detective would reach out to the family.
I was able to get in contact with alex's mother,
Lalonna jackson.
[lalonna] I remember them telling me that
They had found him.
It's... That moment is kind of a blur.
Because I was there by myself, I just remember...
Laying down and crying.
[heather] I think I dropped to the floor.
Felt like...
A part of my soul, my heart had been ripped out.
I couldn't believe that this was happening.
Who would want to hurt him?
I learned that alex had moved to indianapolis
To live with his aunt, heather.
He was taking classes there and working a job,
And doin' really good for the most part.
[narrator] alex's mother says her son's life
Had taken an unexpected turn
After he moved out of his aunt's home
In July of 2017.
He lived in an apartment complex
And somethin' had happened above him,
And so, water had leaked into his apartment,
And he ended up needin' to leave.
[mark] talkin' to lalonna,
He was actually stayin' with friends
At different places and hotels,
And I think that kinda got him in a situation where
He was gettin' with the wrong people.
He had quit his job, and had quit school,
And had started to hang around some people
That were partyin' a little too hard.
Alex called me and voiced some concern about the people
That he had been hanging out with,
And that he had been doing things
That maybe he shouldn't have been.
He knew he needed to stop.
It was quite a shock.
[narrator] coming up.
A chilling discovery leads investigators to uncover
A bitter conflict between friends.
He made a cryptic facebook post in which
He tagged alex and said, "robbing the dead."
That post sounded very awful, especially the timing.
[narrator] but a deeper look at alex's dating life
Suggests a more sinister motive
Any time you're dealing with one of these dating apps,
There's a concern that
You don't know who you're dealing with,
And unfortunately, there could be predators out there.
[music]
[narrator] investigators have identified
23-year-old alex jackson as the murder victim
Found off a rural road in morgan county, indiana...
And law enforcement has learned that alex's family
Had become concerned about him in recent months.
[lalonna] there was about a month or two there
That I'm not sure exactly what happened,
But things went downhill.
Quickly.
You know, the people he hung out with,
I didn't know them.
I knew his friends before,
And all of a sudden, things changed.
[heather] these people...
I had no clue who they were.
No clue.
[narrator] while alex's family is unable to name
Any of alex's new friends,
They can offer investigators helpful insight.
[heather] alex's car actually was in the shop,
So he needed a rental car.
And this family friend offered to get him
A rental car for four days.
And after that four days, they're like,
"well, why wasn't the rental car returned?"
[steve] it was a short-term rental.
That would've been on September 6th.
On the 10th, that rental car was not returned.
They didn't know where the car was.
[narrator] investigators immediately begin
The search for the vehicle, a 2018 hyundai elantra.
They also issue a press release
Hoping to identify alex's new friends in the city.
It's important to know who was the last person
To talk to him or had seen him.
We were tryin' to locate names,
As far as who he hung out with and where he might've been.
And with the press release,
We had gotten a call from one of alex's friends
Who gave us some information on
Who he had been hangin' out with at the time.
One of the names mentioned was chad.
[music]
[narrator] according to the tipster,
Chad had made an alarming post on social media
On September 6th,
Three days before authorities believe alex was killed.
On September 6th,
Chad made a cryptic facebook post
In which he tagged alex and said something to the effect of
"robbing the dead."
They were concerned about the post,
Due to the fact that alex was deceased.
That post sounded very awful, especially the timing.
So at that time, we locate chad.
And we went and spoke with him.
[narrator] when investigators confront chad about
The social media post,
He alleges that alex was the thief in question, not him.
[mark] chad said that him and alex were friends,
And that alex had actually stayed with him for a while.
And that him and alex had a falling out
Due to the fact that
Alex might've taken some items from him.
[narrator] chad claims that the alleged theft occurred
After the two friends partied together on September 6th.
Chad had bought some drugs,
And had used the drugs and, and nearly overdosed.
When he woke up his money was gone,
And he blamed alex for takin' it.
So, he stated that he posted that due to the fact
That he was robbin' him while he was almost dyin'.
So, that was his explanation for the post.
[narrator] the situation had bothered chad,
But he's emphatic that he didn't kill alex.
We have a software that we use
That actually can show which towers in an area
That cell phones had sent data to.
And when our evidence tech ran those numbers through,
We found that chad's number, at the morning of the homicide,
Was far away from the crime scene.
[narrator] cleared of any connection
To alex's death,
Chad suggests they talk to
Alex's closest friend in indianapolis.
He advised that there was another person
That alex hung around with on a regular basis,
Named britney overton.
[steve] alex really trusted britney.
And kinda looked at her as a, maybe a big sister.
She was older,
And looked up to her for guidance, protection, stability.
Britney's name came up,
And that eventually led the investigators
To pay a visit on britney.
[music]
[mark] we proceeded to her grandmother's house,
And we talked to britney.
She said she had been friends with alex for a year or so.
Ran around with him on occasions and partied with him.
[narrator] according to britney,
The last time she saw alex
Was the evening of September 8, 2019.
[mark] she said they were drivin' around
In a blue rental car that alex had.
They had gone to a couple of stores during the day,
And that at 11 o'clock that night,
He had dropped her off at her house.
[steve] britney puts herself with alex together at her house,
In the blue rental car.
Alex leaves at 11:00 p.M.
Was supposed to come back, he never came back.
So now, we're gettin' a lot closer to what happened to alex
The morning of the 9th,
When the neighbors heard gunshots at 4:30 a.M.
Grindr is an app where men can meet other men.
I was concerned maybe he met up with somebody on grindr,
And that something that happened.
And that we really wanted to find out
Who he met up with at that time.
[steve] was this a date that went bad?
Was this a setup date as a robbery?
Lots of questions.
[music]
E week after
The body of alex jackson was discovered,
His friend britney overton has just told investigators
That alex planned to meet up with a grindr date
The night of September 8th...
The last time anyone saw alex alive.
[steve] britney said that he was meeting or talking to
A male on a dating app.
If it's true, alex was with britney
At 11:00 p.M. The night before he was killed,
And he went on a grindr date.
How did this person come into play?
Any time you're dealing with one of these dating apps,
There's a concern that
You don't know who you're dealing with.
And unfortunately, there could be predators out there.
[music]
[narrator] detective mark anderson
Immediately obtains a search warrant
For alex's personal grindr account.
[mark] when I got the information back
From the dating app,
It just gave me the username
And when they would log in or log off.
It didn't give me any names who they talked to,
It didn't give me any names that they hooked up with
Or anything like that.
[steve] that reached a dead end.
A lot of these dating sites are very discreet
For the obvious reason.
[narrator] but just as the investigation
Hits a road block,
Authorities receive crucial information
That breathes new life into the case.
Alex's rental car was found by indianapolis police, abandoned.
[steve] the rental car was found
Wrecked on a road in indianapolis.
The theory then is the people that killed alex
May have been the same people
In the rental car when it was wrecked.
So, we did search warrants on the rental car.
[mark] when we got the vehicle back,
We noticed that in the passenger seat
There was a set of keys.
And we realized there was a car key to a buick.
[peter] the keys to the rental car were there,
But this extra set of keys was significant to investigators,
Because it led them to wonder, "who did these belong to?"
[steve] also interestingly about the rental car,
The front plate of the radio was removed.
And the radio was actually pulled out.
And we were able to recover some very good fingerprints
Of the right hand of a individual
On top of the radio.
Detectives, evidence technicians processed for evidence.
And of course, it doesn't come back right away.
So, we're waiting on dna, we're waiting on fingerprints.
[narrator] while investigators wait on forensics,
Weeks pass without any new leads.
[peter] for the first several weeks,
Investigators didn't really have a lot to go on.
They were reachin' out to anyone who might have known alex
In the indianapolis area.
Unfortunately, they really weren't able to get any answers.
[music]
[narrator] five weeks after alex's death,
Investigators receive a promising tip
From a concerned woman.
[mark] we went and spoke with her.
She stated that her grandson had told her
That he had shot somebody named alex.
He then showed her on his phone
A article from a local television station,
Where alex jackson was identified
As deceased in a homicide.
She had asked him why and, and he had made a comment that
He thought that this person was gonna try to hurt him.
She gave me the name of justin blake.
I had never heard that name in the investigation.
[narrator] justin's grandmother explains that
18-year-old justin had had a tumultuous upbringing.
Justin grew up in indianapolis.
And at a very young age,
His sister and him were taken from the biological parents
Through the department of child services,
And spent some time in foster care,
And he was adopted at one point in time.
Justin had gotten into some trouble,
And had gotten incarcerated as a juvenile.
It was too hard for them to take care of him.
So, they kinda washed their hands of him,
And he went to the system.
[steve] justin lived on and off on the streets.
By the time he was 18, a fairly hardened individual,
Which is really sad.
[music]
[narrator] six months earlier,
Justin had reconnected with his grandmother.
[steve] grandma treated him with love,
Was concerned about his appearance,
Concerned about who he was hangin' around with,
But still, as a grandmother's love would be,
"what can I do for you?"
And justin bared his soul.
And basically told grandma that he had killed somebody.
[music]
[mark] she was still in shock that he had said this to her,
But she knew she was tryin' to do the right thing,
So she gave that information.
[narrator] investigators know they need to speak
With justin immediately.
[mark] she told me that he was at the hendricks county jail
In October of 2019.
That he had gotten arrested for
Having a stolen van and a stolen gun.
And she was concerned that possibly that
Maybe that gun was involved in the case.
[steve] we had then a good belief that
This person was a viable suspect in alex's killing.
[mark] and that's when I went to the hendricks county jail
And spoke to justin.
[music]
I advised him that I was here to speak to him about a homicide.
And it wasn't 'til a short time later he stated,
"oh, yeah, I know alex".
[narrator] investigators inform justin
An anonymous tip
Has implicated the teen in alex's murder.
[mark] he tried to explain that he only met alex twice,
And he tried to brush it off that he didn't really know him.
[narrator] when asked how he met alex,
Justin tells investigators
They were introduced through justin's girlfriend...
[mark] when I heard that,
Then it started clickin' together that
The two names were connected.
Britney...
And justin.
[music]
[narrator] over a month after
The shooting death of alex jackson,
Investigators in morgan county, indiana
Have zeroed in on justin blake
As the primary person of interest...
When justin reveals he was introduced to alex
By alex's friend, britney overton.
Investigators made the connection
That justin knew britney.
In fact, the two had a relationship for some time.
And add that to the fact that investigators were told by
Justin's grandmother that justin had confessed to killing alex.
These were strong pieces of evidence.
Justin was pretty much sayin' he's not involved.
"I don't know why you're here."
[narrator] however, justin does admit to
Being with britney and alex on September 8th,
The evening investigators believe alex was killed.
Justin started to tell a story very similar to britney,
That he saw alex that night.
Alex had a, a date on the dating app,
And that alex left in a blue rental car at 11:00 p.M.,
And never came back.
[mark] he said that alex dropped him off at the house.
That he never saw alex after that.
[mark] we didn't talk to him much longer after that,
'cause we wanted to make sure we had another shot to talk to him.
[narrator] while justin is escorted back to his jail cell,
Investigators focus on the stolen weapon
Found in his possession during his recent arrest.
[mark] I then called
The arresting officer in that case
To confirm what kind of weapon that he was charged with.
But he had a revolver in his possession at the time,
So it didn't match the shell casings
That we found at the scene,
Due to the fact a revolver doesn't spit out shell casings.
[peter] they weren't able to find the murder weapon.
So, they strongly suspected that justin had dumped the weapon
Shortly after the murder.
[narrator] still, investigators have no idea
What motive justin would have..
Or what role britney overton might have played in the crime.
Before circling back to britney
They focus their efforts on developing evidence against he.
[steve] so, we did search warrants of social media,
Cell phone records, cell phone tower locations,
Anything that we could to either include
Or exclude someone as a suspect.
Britney had clearly kept some interesting company.
[steve] there was some involvement
In the drug community.
Not terrible, but enough that she was on probation.
We learned that britney met justin blake through
A drug dealer, they had the same dealer.
[music]
[mark] once I got the facebook records
For britney overton,
You can see that she's hangin' with justin a lot
As a couple in pictures.
Britney and, and justin did have
A sexual relationship with each other.
He had a bad guy persona about him already,
And he was only 18 at the time.
I think in looking at some of the social media,
She had a bad boy crush on him.
There is some comment that all they'd been through,
They had a bond like a band of brothers,
A thick as thieves type of bond.
[mark] when I'm goin' through her accounts,
I'm finding conversations
With her and other subjects in the criminal world.
Just days prior to the homicide,
She's actually talkin' to people about wantin' to get a gun.
[narrator] investigators are unable to determine
If britney had acquired a gun..
But as they continue analyzing her social media data and usage
They come to a startling realization.
Neighbors heard gunshots at around 4:30 a.M.
On the morning of September 9th,
Which is believed to be the time that alex was killed.
And then at 4:45 a.M.,
Britney logged onto her facebook account
And she unfriended alex.
[mark] that stuck in our mind really hard.
It was exactly 15 minutes after the homicide
That she de-friends alex jackson.
Once we had that foundation,
Then when those cell records came back,
Her cell phone put her in the area of north mann road,
Very close to where alex was killed,
At 4:31 a.M. On September 9th.
[narrator] investigators have the evidence they need
To secure a warrant for britney's arrest.
When they receive the forensic analysis
On alex's rental car,
The case becomes more than circumstantial.
We sent a copy of justin blake's fingerprints to the state lab,
With the fingerprint that we found on the radio.
They called back and confirmed it was a match
To his fingerprints.
So, that places him in the vehicle.
The dna results on the keys,
Those dna results came back to britney overton.
[steve] the dna, the phone records
All kinda put justin there, britney there.
There didn't seem to be any obvious motive,
But it was time to roll up our sleeves, file the charges,
And get arrest warrants for
Justin blake and britney overton.
[music]
[narrator] on October 3rd, 2020,
More than a year after alex jackson's murder,
Police take justin blake and britney overton into custody.
Justin had been in hendricks county jail for stealing a car
And having a gun in his possession.
But at that point, justin had been released from jail.
Justin was in indianapolis with a new girlfriend,
And he was located at her residence.
Britney was found inside indianapolis city limits.
[narrator] investigators sit down with justin first...
And confront him with the evidence stacked against him.
He just denied it the whole time
And said the same story he said before.
He was given a voice stress test.
He agreed to take one, and of course he failed it.
After that he pretty much said, "I want to talk to a lawyer."
[investigator] britney.
[narrator] detectives next turn their attention to britney.
Britney, for two hours, played...
Innocent.
[steve] and it wasn't until the detectives talked about
That her phone records put her at the scene.
There was no way she wasn't there.
I think she finally realized,
"well, let's tell this story and see what happens."
And then she gave a story of what happened that night.
All those pieces of the puzzle fell into place,
As we had planned.
[music]
[narrator] indiana authorities have arrested britney overton
And justin blake for the murder of britney's friend,
Alex jackson.
While justin continues to maintain his innocence,
Britney eventually cracks under pressure.
Britney told them that on the night of September 8th...
Alex had picked her up in his rental car.
[mark] britney said alex and her was runnin' around.
And at some point in time in the night,
They picked justin up.
[peter] they were drivin' around partyin' a bit,
And at a certain point,
Justin suggested they go try to make some fast money.
They get alex to contact a guy from grindr,
And they set up a date to meet him,
And they were gonna rob him.
[narrator] according to britney,
When the trio arrived at the apartment complex,
Justin forced alex to accompany him to the front door...
[mark] britney stated that when they met the guy,
Justin started pistol whippin' him.
Britney said that alex didn't expect them to beat him up
And be that violent.
[narrator] britney claims the trio
Partied for the next several hours...
But alex became increasingly upset about what had happened.
Alex has never seen this kinda stuff before.
He's not a criminal.
He, that must have been a shock.
He was kinda regretting doin' the,
The robbery and stuff, and was talkin' about it.
There was a concern that alex would snitch on them.
[mark] they ended up on this road.
And at that time then,
Justin supposedly tells her to stop the car.
[mark] when she stopped the car,
He then made the comment, "alex, you know it's time."
And at that time, she says alex looks over at her, says,
"what's going on britney?"
[mark] justin gets out with the gun in his hand,
And she proceeds to look straight ahead
And hears several gunshots.
And then, justin gets in the front seat of the car
And had the gun in his hand, and alex's cell phone.
And justin drives her, drops her off, and says,
"don't say anything to anybody, or you're gonna die."
And then he drives off and leaves.
[narrator] investigators aren't buying britney's story.
If britney was afraid of justin
She certainly didn't seem to show it
In the days after the murder.
[peter] britney admitted to police that
They used the rental car for two days after the murder.
[mark] she said that her and justin were drinkin',
And that he ran off the road and hit the tree.
So, I'm seein' now that she's more of a manipulative person,
And you can see where
She's doin' anything she can to survive.
[narrator] while justin
Continues to deny any involvement,
Investigators have what they need to file charges.
[steve] we charged justin blake with murder and felony murder.
Murder for shooting alex,
Felony murder for stealing the car.
We charged britney overton only with felony murder and robbery.
We did not believe that she pulled the trigger.
I didn't know anything about britney.
But I just needed whoever was responsible...
To pay for it.
They took my baby.
For no reason.
[heather] after the arrests were made,
The family was happy.
Lalonna was happy, my brother was happy.
But now comes trial.
[narrator] with britney's testimony
And a mountain of physical and digital evidence in tow,
Prosecutors take justin's case to a jury in February of 2022.
While prosecutors don't need to prove motive as
An element of their case,
They believe they know why alex was killed that night.
[peter] alex fell in with the wrong crowd.
He certainly wasn't hardened like britney and justin.
Ultimately, alex was caught up in their crimes,
And as soon as he showed a sign of weakness,
They punished him for that to protect themselves.
Obviously, they were intimate.
They found some attraction to each other.
I think it became a bond of what they did together that night,
And then a bond of how they thought they could get away it.
[music]
[narrator] despite justin's defense team
Attempting to shift blame solely to britney,
On February 24, 2022,
The jury sides with the prosecution.
[steve] the jury convicted justin of all counts:
Murder, felony murder, and robbery.
We proceeded to sentencing, and the judge gave him 61 years.
[narrator] in may 2022,
Britney overton accepts a plea bargain.
The judge did credit her for testifying in justin's trial.
The judge ended up giving her 20 years,
With 17 and a half to do.
[marlene] britney teared up a little bit, but...
I, I didn't think she was very remorseful.
[gabrielle] I still cannot wrap my mind around
How you can be so close to somebody like alex,
And do something so horrific.
I just will never understand why.
[lalonna] they took an amazing person.
And that was part of the problem.
He was so trusting and befriended people,
Because he saw the good in everyone.
[music]