A 29-year-old man in Mississippi has been accused of killing his mother and attempting to dispose of her remains by flushing them down a toilet. Zachary Lavel Jackson Jr. faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder, in connection with the death of Lana Brown Bradley.
Discovery of the Crime
According to the New York Post, law enforcement officers found the suspect as he was trying to flush pieces of the victim's flesh down a toilet. The Adams County Sheriff's Office reported that deputies were called to Bradley's Natchez residence on April 4, 2026, after her eldest son was unable to contact her the previous day. Jackson was initially identified as a family member before investigators confirmed he was her son.
Sheriff Travis Patten described the case as deeply disturbing. "This is by far the most heinous crime that I've ever witnessed in my entire life. We weren't out there that day; this was one of those things when we walked up. This was one of those cases that you will never, ever forget in your life. This is the type of case that follows you home," Patten told WJTV.
Evidence of a Cleanup
According to the sheriff, deputies noticed signs of a recent cleanup when they arrived at the home. "As soon as they walked in the house, they could just see where somebody had been cleaning up, and they could smell chemicals all throughout the house. The floor was extremely slippery. And the older son said that this is just unusual for the youngest son to be cleaning up the house like that," Patten explained.
Jackson, the youngest son, was found in a bathroom, where deputies allegedly made a discovery that became central to the investigation. "I can say what was in the toilet, and it was her flesh. He chopped her up in pieces and dismembered her in a way that whoever came looking for her would have to do their due diligence to find her, and that's just what we did," the sheriff said.
Attempted Disposal of Remains
Authorities said Jackson allegedly placed parts of his mother's body in a suitcase and attempted to dispose of other remains. Jackson faces charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, mayhem, and tampering with evidence. Investigators said Bradley, a retired teacher, had recently sought to evict her son from the home.
Patten, citing family interviews, said Jackson was believed to be mentally unstable but also noted that his actions appeared deliberate. "He had threatened her the day before because she was looking to have him evicted from the home. She was in the process of doing so and had just gone to court the day before to have him removed from the home," Patten explained.
"When we talked to the people who came down from the crime scene, from the investigative unit for MBI, they have never seen this. We talked to the scientists who did the autopsy. They've never seen anything like this. Nobody has witnessed anything this heinous in our state," he added.
