Angel May Carter was 19 when she was found shot to death at the Rodeway Inn on Goshen Road in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on August 9, 2020. The Allen County Coroner’s Office ruled her death a homicide; it was the county’s 29th homicide that year. Reports say Angel enjoyed the outdoors, camping and fishing.

Surveillance footage from the motel played a central role in the case. Video allegedly shows a man identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jermaine Jackson knocking on Angel’s door holding a gun, obtaining a key from the front desk when there was no answer, entering her room, and later both exiting the room as Angel fell to the ground with Jackson standing over her with the gun. Jackson had earlier told police he ran after an altercation, a claim the footage contradicted.

Detectives arrested Thomas J. Jackson; a witness named Peter Long testified he saw Jackson fleeing the hotel that night. A jury found Jackson guilty of murder and of using a firearm. He received an aggregate sentence of eighty-five years. Did anyone know Angel or have information about her activities that night at the motel?