Murder of Seath Tyler Jackson: The Facebook posts that started it all

(ABOVE: Amber Wright and Mike Bargo, arrested in the slaying of Seath Tyler Jackson.)

As noted in Starcasm’s previous account of the murder of Seath Tyler Jackson in Summerfield, FL, there is far more to the already gory story of youth nihilism gone wild.

The murder occurred in a beautiful part of the state, only a little more than an hour northwest of Orlando and the family fun of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The small town of Summerfield is set amongst the area’s lush, moss-laden oak tree canopies, with the tropical effects of the Gulf of Mexico blowing in from an hour’s ride to the west. The area is also home to hundreds of sparkling, crystal clear fresh water springs that host an abundance of wildlife that is unique to Florida.

You might ask what could explain such a grotesque act of violence? Well, the correct answer will always be nothing: the killers of Seath Jackson had a choice to kill or not to kill, and they chose to kill. There was apparently no act of self-defense involved, just the cruel and premeditated murder of a 15-year-old boy, outnumbered six-to-one and taken completely by surprise. The reason they did it lies in the hearts tainted with a blackness that most of us simply can’t fathom.

That said, there are indicators as to what likely ignited the ambush murder: a rivalry and love triangle surrounding Seath, his ex-girlfriend, Amber Wright, and the young man alleged to be the mastermind behind the murder, Mike Bargo. And those indicators can all be found on Seath Jackson’s Facebook page, a startling look inside the youth culture that spawned this murder.

As a commenter noted on the website of the local television station covering the saga, there is an obvious question: “…didn’t his parents read his facebook page? They must have known that he was screwed up and need help badly. This guy was bad news. A real bad seed. His page was the most vulgar and disgusting page that I have ever read on facebook, or anywhere.”

What is this commenter talking about? Below are screen captures of virtually all of the commentary found on Seath Tyler’s Facebook wall. You may disagree with the commenter about Seath’s Facebook postings being proof of him being “bad news,” but you have to admit it’s pretty vulgar, and shows a young man living the kind of life that put him on the edge. Read on…

First up are a couple of Facebook status updates that show his romance with Amber Wright, one where he expresses “missing his bbyg Amber” from March 2nd, and another from March 20th, 2011, which indicates a happier, more laid back time for Seath with his girlfriend Amber and her brother, Kyle Hooper. Little did he know that less than a month later, both would be implicated in his horrible murder:

But very soon after, the love triangle with Mike Bargo changes the complexion of their relationship. After a March 22nd status update indicating serious drug use, and a March 23rd post (accidentally doubleposted) that seems to show some pretty hateful language shown towards black people, he declares he’s single to all his Facebook friends on March 28th, dishing his phone number.

Then, on March 30th, the anger manifests in a series of taunting status updates against Amber Wright and her new boyfriend, Mike Bargo:

And then, on April 7th, an extremely derogatory status update that implies that Amber Wright smokes crystal meth and has been sleeping around:

This ignited an intense conversation between Seath and his friends, by far the status update with the most comments on his rarely updated Facebook page. In it, several friends call him to task about his language, though some cheer him on:

Seath’s friend, Justin Brown, continues to slag Mike Bargo with insulting commentary, calling him “soft” (among other things) and implying that the 18-year-old Bargo was soon to get his butt kicked by the 15-year-old Seath Jackson, if only Bargo would come out and fight “like a man”. (Again, the foreshadowing is ominous…)

And then Amber Wright replies on April 8, only nine days before she would allegedly lure Seath to his doom on 53rd Ave:

After Amber has her say defending herself, Seath Tyler tells her to let it go in a series of five comments, letting Amber have the last word: “Learn the definition of DONE!” Allegedly, she felt the need to instruct Seath on that definition in person 9 days later:

And only a few days later, on April 11th, comes the last status update from Seath Jackson (that makes any sense), and it yet another broadside against Amber Wright:

After reading all this, I have to remind myself that we’re dealing with children here, kids 15-years old and with an overriding lack of sophistication for such basics as spelling and grammar. That lack of understanding can’t help but confuse and muddle any kind of communication they’re trying to convey through social media.

Despite that, the mechanisms of murder seem loud and clear: the taunting through Facebook exacerbated an already bad dynamic between these young people. Let pride, ego and the violent new norms for expressing masculinity mix in a very public setting – with seemingly hundreds of Facebook “friends” watching in real time – and it doesn’t take long for those elements to explode.

But it in no way explains the soul-numbing savagery allegedly displayed by these six: Michael Bargo, Amber Wright, Justin “Roach” Soto, Kyle Hooper, Charlie Ely, and James Haven.

Here are more pictures of those arrested, to get an up close look at what thoughtless, senseless, violently immature children look like:

AMBER WRIGHT:

JUSTIN “ROACH” SOTO:

CHARLIE ELY:

KYLE HOOPER:

CHARLIE ELY:

MIKE BARGO:

AMBER WRIGHT AND KYLE HOOPER: