The fatal stabbing of an 88-year-old Atlantan may have started with a scam artist knocking on her Old Fourth Ward neighborhood door, a detective says.
Mattie Jackson was killed in her home on Rankin Street in 2003, but the detective on the cold case told Channel 2 Action News he recently identified a person of interest.
Atlanta police Detective Vincent Velazquez said Justine Wimberly was known for scamming people like Jackson.
Wimberly had “a history of flim flamming elderly females to get into their homes under the guise of working for social services or Meals On Wheels or something like that,” Velazquez told the television station.
Someone stole checks that belonged to the victim and even passed a stolen check before Jackson’s body was found.
“The killer or killers actually cut the purse from her grip and the strap of the purse remained with her body,” Velazquez said, describing how the 88-year-old fought for her life.
The detective hopes someone who knows Wimberly will come forward and help the family get the closure they desperately need.
Mattie’s Jackson’s granddaughter, Tracy Jackson, told Channel 2 that putting a name to the murder matters to her.
“No one ever thinks that they would be taken by murder, no one, no one thinks that,” Tracy Jackson said.
She said she doesn’t believe “time heals all wounds” and 13 years has been too long to suffer without answers in her grandmother’s death.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Atlanta police or Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS.
About the Author
