In late July 2018 human remains were found near the Mississippi River at the Maple Island Access area in West Alton. Officers who responded on the morning of July 24 located a body that had been severely burned; identification and an autopsy later confirmed the victim was 39-year-old Wilbert J. Irving of Spanish Lake. The autopsy found Irving had been shot four times before his remains were taken to the river access and set on fire.

Detectives traced the killing to Irving’s home on Woodstream Drive in St. Louis County. Investigators say an argument between Irving and his basement tenant escalated, and the tenant allegedly shot Irving. The shooter then enlisted three others to help move the body into a garage, purchase gasoline, load the victim into Irving’s vehicle, drive to West Alton to burn the body and abandon the car elsewhere.

Four people were arrested. Brandon Jackson, 33, was charged as the shooter with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse. Raven Bennett, 28, Gabriell Ward, 25, and Brian Jackson, 28, were charged with tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.