NATCHEZ, MS — A 29-year-old Mississippi man faces murder charges after authorities found him allegedly flushing pieces of his mother’s dismembered body down a toilet during a welfare check at her home on April 4.
Zachary Lavel Jackson Jr. has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, mayhem and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of his mother, Lana Brown Bradley, 62, a retired teacher and beloved community member. The case has shocked the small Mississippi River town of Natchez, where Bradley taught children and their children over her career as an educator. Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten called it “the most heinous crime that I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life” and said it was “the type of case that follows you home.”
The grisly discovery unfolded when Bradley’s oldest son requested the welfare check after being unable to reach his mother for two days. Bradley lived with two of her younger sons, including Jackson, while her middle son had been working when she became unreachable. When deputies arrived at the home on Melanie Road, they immediately noticed the overwhelming smell of cleaning chemicals and floors that were “extremely slippery,” according to Patten. “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 sheriff told WJTV. Bradley’s older son told officers it was highly unusual for Jackson to be cleaning the house so thoroughly.
Deputies found Jackson locked in a downstairs bathroom where they could hear splashing sounds. When they gained entry, officers discovered a black substance in the toilet that “wasn’t described as anything that would come from your body in that way,” Patten explained. The disturbing scene prompted authorities to launch a comprehensive search of the two-acre property and surrounding wooded areas near bayous and creeks. Family members who had arrived at the scene joined the search effort, with deputies and relatives splitting into different groups to cover more ground. The search took a horrific turn when someone screamed “It’s a head! It’s a head!” from the wooded area, causing everyone to freeze as they processed what they were hearing.
Investigators determined that Jackson had dismembered his mother’s body and distributed the remains in multiple locations around the property. Some body parts were found stuffed in a suitcase, while other pieces had been flushed down the toilet. Patten ordered a plumber to remove the toilet entirely to recover additional evidence. “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. The investigation revealed that Bradley had been in the process of evicting Jackson from her home and had gone to court the day before her death to have him legally removed from the property. Jackson had allegedly threatened his mother the previous day because of her eviction efforts.
Family members told investigators that they considered Jackson mentally unstable, but Sheriff Patten emphasized that the accused man was highly intelligent and calculating in his actions. Jackson attended school for precision piping and has some form of engineering degree, according to the sheriff. “This guy is smart though, you’ve got to understand,” Patten said. “It’s not that he is not competent. It’s not that he didn’t know what he was doing. He was very calculating in what he was doing.” Bradley had reportedly expressed fear for her safety while living with her youngest son, leading to her decision to pursue the eviction. The retired educator was known throughout Natchez for her dedication to students and her passion for poetry, with plans to publish a collection of her written work.
Jackson waived his right to a preliminary hearing during his court appearance on Tuesday and remains in custody at the Adams County Jail without bond. His case now proceeds to a grand jury for potential indictment on the multiple felony charges. Bradley’s daughter, Zuri Brown, took to Facebook to ask for “tact and grace” in online discussions about her mother’s death, reminding the public that “the family of the deceased has access to the same internet as you.” She shared one of her mother’s poems titled “A Tribute to Momma’s Legacy,” which spoke of mothers as “natural phenomenon” and “the caregiver of the child even in death.” Former colleagues described Bradley as someone whose “dedication, warmth, and commitment to student success were evident in all that she did.”
The case has left the historic Mississippi River community grappling with the loss of a respected educator and the shocking nature of her death. Jackson’s next court date has not been publicly scheduled as prosecutors prepare to present the case to a grand jury for potential indictment on the murder and evidence tampering charges.
