Odell Jackson

Serial Killer

Odell Jackson and the Birmingham Axe-Murder Investigation

Overview

Odell Jackson was an Alabama murder defendant associated with the wave of axe attacks that frightened Birmingham and the surrounding Jefferson County communities during the early 1920s. He and his wife, Pearl Jackson, were portrayed by investigators and newspapers as central members of a supposed criminal organization that became known as the Alabama Axe Syndicate. Jackson is frequently described as a serial killer. However, the surviving record is more complicated than that label suggests. Birmingham experienced numerous axe assaults between 1919 and 1924, but the attacks were not necessarily committed by one person or one organized group. Some appear to have been robberies, some may have involved unrelated offenders, and others may have been copycat crimes. Although Jackson was convicted of murder, it cannot be established with certainty that he personally committed every killing attributed to the alleged syndicate.

The Birmingham Axe-Murder Wave

Beginning in 1919, Birmingham was shaken by a succession of nighttime attacks in which victims were struck with axes, hatchets or similar blunt instruments. Historical accounts differ on the total number of cases. Some accounts connect approximately eighteen deaths and sixteen nonfatal assaults to the broader crime wave, while contemporary investigators claimed that confessions had helped them resolve dozens of crimes, including at least eight fatal attacks. Many attacks occurred inside small neighborhood stores. A victim might be surprised while working alone, struck repeatedly and left near a counter or cash register while the attacker searched the building for money. Italian immigrant grocers were among those targeted, although the violence was not confined to one ethnic or social group. Other cases were described as "alley murders." In those attacks, men were allegedly enticed into isolated streets, alleys or vacant areas, where accomplices waited to rob and assault them. Police eventually argued that a connected group of men and women was responsible for both the store robberies and the attacks in secluded locations. ...

Confirmed Victims: (0)

Jackson Odell Had History of Heroin Use