Dying Mom Texted Suspect’s Name Before She and 5-Year-Old Son Were Murdered: Police

Background: News video from the scene of the triple murder in Birmingham, Alabama, in July 2024 (WVTM). On the left is an insert of Jacorrian McGregor from the Birmingham Police Department. Archie “Kia” Berry (Davenport & Harris Funeral Homes) is shown inset on the right.

In her last moments, an Alabama woman who died in a shooting that also killed her 5-year-old son texted the name of the man who she thought had done it.

Arkia “Kia” Berry, 28, was in a car with her 5-year-old son Landyn Brooks and her 28-year-old boyfriend Eric Ashley Jr. on July 13, 2024. The car was found full of bullet holes. Local news site Al.com said that Birmingham homicide detective Jarvelius Tolliver went to court for a preliminary hearing about the case and showed proof from the investigation into the triple murder.

Text messages sent from the victims’ phones were used as proof. One of the messages was from Berry and seemed to name the suspect.

A few months after the killing, Jacorrian McGregor, who is 25 years old, was arrested by the Birmingham Police Department and charged with capital murder. When McGregor went to his preliminary hearing on Thursday, Tolliver said that Berry’s phone had proof that pointed to him being guilty.

Al.com says Berry sent a friend a text message with the word “Jaco” at 5:09 p.m. on the day of the killing. It is said that McGregor’s nickname is “Jaco.”

At 5:07 p.m., a security camera in one of the homes in the area where the shooting happened caught a picture of a lime green Kia Soul. At 5:08 p.m., Berry’s blue Nissan Maxima can be seen.

At the exact same time as Berry’s text message at 5:09 p.m., Ashley’s phone called McGregor.

The Kia can be seen driving out of the neighbourhood at 5:10 p.m. on the same camera. Tolliver said that after that, no other cars were seen. When police arrived soon after, they found the Nissan in a cul-de-sac, full of bullet holes. Police say they found Berry’s body between the front and back seats, near where her son was found.

Tolliver said that earlier that day, McGregor and Ashley sent each other text messages that said they were going to meet up. Another person Tolliver talked to said, “McGregor told him he had shot.”

John Robbins, McGregor’s lawyer, asked Tolliver if there was any proof that McGregor had anything to do with the Kia. Tolliver told me there wasn’t. When Robbins asked Tolliver if there were any witnesses who might be able to link his client to the Kia, the officer named Berry and said, “She texted his name right before she died.”

Robbins replied, “That doesn’t mean he was the shooter.”

The judge agreed with the prosecutors and said there was a good reason to send the case to the grand jury. McGregor was told to stay in jail without bond.

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