Jermaine Ross

Summary

True Crime All The Time – Episode 468: Jermaine Ross

Release Date: January 19, 2026
Hosts: Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson (Gibby)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Mike and Gibby dissect the tragic 2018 murder of Jermaine Ross—a beloved barber from Cahokia, Illinois—who was found dead in his home after missing appointments. The episode explores Ross’s positive influence in his community, the investigation that followed his suspicious death, and the eventual unraveling of motive, suspects, and truth. The hosts intersperse serious analysis with their signature light banter, but stay deeply engaged with the case’s details and emotional gravity.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Jermaine Ross: A Beloved Community Barber

• Background: Jermaine Ross (b. Nov 6, 1970) was known for his vibrant barbershop that served as a local hub. People were drawn to his welcoming personality, generosity, and community spirit.

  • "[Jermaine] was a person that reached out and helped people. He was a community person. You know, he had a heart." (Mike Ferguson, quoting Jermaine's sister Willa Ross Patterson, 08:56)
  • Jermaine often cut children's hair for free if their families were struggling, and let those in need stay at his house rent-free (08:47–10:04).

• Barbershop as Safe Space: Mike and Gibby reflect on the importance of neighborhood barbershops as safe, social spaces, contrasting them with modern chain salons (06:24–08:45).

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Discovery of the Crime Scene

• Jermaine Goes Missing: In early October 2018, Jermaine missed several appointments. A friend found an overwhelming odor and a disturbing number of flies at his house on October 3 (11:51–12:16).

  • "There were so many flies, it looked like a black tarp across the window." (Mike Ferguson, 12:09)

• Police Arrive: A neighbor, Officer Greer, responded after being told "Ross is dead." Greer was immediately met with a powerful odor ("the stench, I mean, it was bad"), an unmistakable sign of death for law enforcement (13:19–13:58).

• Initial Assumptions: Due to decomposition and no obvious injuries, police initially suspected natural causes (14:00–14:33).

  • Forensic details: Jermaine was found nude on the couch; the home was disorganized but showed no signs of struggle (15:21–16:23).

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The Investigation and the Oddities

• Suspicious Clues:

  • A can of Comet cleanser—used for scrubbing—was found on both the living room coffee table and Jermaine’s genitals, as well as on the deadbolt and doorknob. Investigators wondered if someone was trying to erase fingerprints or DNA (16:23–19:06).
    • "Can you dust somebody's genitals for fingerprints?" (Mike Gibson, 19:23)

• Autopsy Revelation: The coroner found Jermaine died of a gunshot wound—the bullet entered through his buttocks and pierced his heart, indicating an unusual firing angle (19:59–21:00).

• Major Case Squad: Due to the wide suspect pool—Jermaine was well-liked but also well-known—authorities called in a multi-jurisdictional task force (21:31–22:11).

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Motive and Suspects

• Rumors and Threats:

  • Jermaine had recently received a $25,000 insurance settlement after his barbershop was destroyed in a fire. He openly discussed getting the money, even showing cash to several people (31:00–37:44).
    • "You need to keep your mouth shut and stop telling these people that you got money, especially if you're over here by yourself." (Mike Ferguson, relaying Ronald’s warning, 32:07)
  • Jermaine told friends and family he was having "problems" with unspecified people and carried a pistol for protection (25:41–27:43).

• Financial Struggles: Despite the insurance payout, Jermaine was described as someone who never had much money and was still struggling financially prior to the windfall—at the time of his death, he had no running water (49:23).

  • "He didn't even have running water at his house at the time of his death." (Mike Ferguson, 49:23)

• No Cash Found: After his murder, authorities could not locate the settlement money—only two $100 bills under his mattress—reinforcing robbery as a likely motive (38:02).

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Witnesses, Alibis, and Cracks in the Story

• Neighbors and Timeline:

  • A neighbor, Dion H., reported hearing gunshots around midnight on September 30 but saw no movement and went back to bed (23:58–24:03).
  • Jermaine had previously told people his door had been kicked in and that "people were after him" (25:21–25:41).

• Potential Perpetrators Emerge:

  • Attention turned to Melinda Graves, a local woman acquainted with Jermaine. Melinda approached police, scared and claiming strangers were accusing her of the murder and threatening her (38:34–40:15).
  • Melinda said she and friend Jasmine Madison (Jermaine’s lover) were at his house the night of the murder, but that both left while he was alive (39:48).
  • Melinda’s story changed in successive interviews—she admitted to searching for Jermaine’s money, then described a strange man bursting in, demanding money, and killing Jermaine while she and Jasmine fled (41:39–45:07).
    • "[Her] story changed. She recalled: 'So we're walking down the street to the dude's house. ... were drinking Malt liquor and smoking my cigarettes.'" (Mike Ferguson, 41:39)

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The Break in the Case

• Contradictions and Surveillance:

  • Security footage revealed a black car matching Melinda’s description at the scene. A man named Modi, who drove a similar car and knew Jasmine, was interrogated but cleared via alibi (47:45–48:16).

• Jasmine Madison Located: Eventually police found Jasmine had been hiding due to outstanding warrants. She asserted Melinda killed Jermaine—not a mystery man—and recounted the full incident in detail:

  • After a night of drinking and sex, Melinda appeared with Jermaine’s own handgun, demanded the money, and shot him twice (49:25–51:13).
  • Melinda then ordered Jasmine to pour Comet on Jermaine’s body, possibly to destroy forensic evidence of sexual contact (51:13–51:19).
    • “Just trying to figure out why put Comet on your inner thighs and your junk.” (Mike Gibson, 51:13)

• Confession and Aftermath:

  • After Jasmine’s account and corroborating evidence—including Melinda’s sudden spending and her brother’s testimony—Melinda eventually confessed during police interrogation (54:47–55:54).
    • “Melinda admitted to shooting Jermaine twice, saying that she panicked after doing so.” (Mike Ferguson, 55:57)

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Judicial Resolution

• Charges and Sentencing:

  • Melinda Graves was charged and eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, earning a 25-years-to-life sentence (56:46–58:25).
  • Jasmine Madison pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for her role in evidence tampering (57:36–57:55).

• Aftermath:

  • Jermaine’s family, friends, and community mourned the senseless loss of a man universally liked for his generosity.
  • Melinda's parole eligibility could see her released at 55, a development that angers and saddens those who loved Jermaine (58:25–59:22).
    • “How fair is it that this person at some point gets to go free, live their life? ... We’ll never see our loved one again.” (Mike Ferguson, 58:47)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ross’s Generosity:

  • “If a child’s parents didn’t have money for their haircut, Jermaine did it for free because he wanted them to look nice for school.” — Mike Ferguson, 08:47

• On Discovery of the Scene:

  • “[The] stench, I mean, it was bad. ... I just put my head inside the door. I called the chief, like, ‘Hey, we got a body over here.’” — Officer Greer, 13:44

• On Motive:

  • “If you’re a person out to get some quick cash, finding out that someone has $25,000 in cash, that could be pretty tempting for a criminal. And murder might be the quick and easy way to get it. People murder for less.” — Mike Ferguson, 37:44–38:07

• On Changing Stories:

  • “Never a good sign when someone’s story changes. Especially a change like this, because it’s so dramatically different.” — Mike Ferguson, 42:43

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Important Timestamps

• 02:30 – Episode start, hosts’ banter
• 05:39 – Introduction of Jermaine Ross
• 08:47 – Stories of Jermaine’s generosity
• 11:51 – Discovery of Jermaine’s body
• 16:23 – Comet cleaner found as a clue
• 19:59 – Coroner reveals gunshot wound
• 21:31 – Major Case Squad brought in
• 31:00–37:44 – Discussion of Jermaine’s insurance payout and its risks
• 49:25 – Jasmine’s confession: Melinda pulled the trigger
• 54:47 – Melinda confronted, confesses to murder
• 56:46 – Melinda’s sentencing
• 58:47 – Mike reflects on fairness and closure for the family

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Conclusion and Reflections

Mike and Gibby close the episode by lamenting the tragic waste of a generous life taken over greed, pondering how unjust it feels for the perpetrator to ever regain freedom while Jermaine’s family faces a permanent loss. They highlight how this crime was senseless and entirely preventable—an unhappy testament to the destructive power of desperation and poor choices.

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For those interested in the full case details, the hosts recommend checking out the related 'Real Murders on Elm Street' episode featuring interviews with family, law enforcement, and first responders.

Transcript

[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 468 of the True Crime all the Time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me as always, is my partner in True Crime, Mike Gibson. Gibby, how are you?

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, I'm doing good man. How about you?

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm doing amazingly.

[Mike Gibson]

That's awesome.

[Mike Ferguson]

We talked about it on Patreon, but and I think I mentioned it on here as well. But I'm in the process of setting up a new studio for video and I've really been kind of sweating the details, you know, what table to buy.

[Mike Gibson]

It's a big decision.

[Mike Ferguson]

It is a big decision, but I finally settled on one. I'm really excited about it. So we're probably two or three weeks away from the extra episode coming out, but we're getting closer.

[Mike Gibson]

I'm just glad I get it my side of the table.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, but like I said on Patreon, with all of that increased room. Yeah, people are going to be expecting big things from you and Like I.

[Mike Gibson]

Said, with great power comes great responsibility. Well, something like that.

[Mike Ferguson]

So we will see. We'll see. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had Heather Mayu.

[Mike Gibson]

What's going on, Heather?

[Mike Ferguson]

Isaiah McClinney.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, Isaiah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Omen.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, let's omen you.

[Mike Ferguson]

Sherry Parkinson.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, Sherry.

[Mike Ferguson]

Kimberly Carter.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, Kimberly.

[Mike Ferguson]

Christian. Agent.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, thanks, Agent Crystal.

[Mike Ferguson]

Gilly.

[Mike Gibson]

Gilly. It's like under a Saturday Night Live character named Gilly.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, there's Gilda Radner.

[Mike Gibson]

I think there was actually a character named Gilly played by Kristen Wiig.

[Mike Ferguson]

Wiig, maybe?

[Mike Gibson]

I think so.

[Mike Ferguson]

She was great.

[Mike Gibson]

She was.

[Mike Ferguson]

She was one of my favorites.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And then last but not least, Chrissy Patrone.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, thanks, Chrissy.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, we appreciate the new support. And then if we go back into the vault this week, we selected Sherry Valette.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, Sherry.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. So appreciate the continued support. We have an episode out right now on True Crime all the Time Unsolved, where we're talking about 52 year old Lynn Messer who went missing in 2014. And then two years later, her body was found on her family's farm property in Bloomsdale, Missouri.

[Mike Gibson]

Raised a few eyebrows there, didn't we?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, this one is a real head scratcher. Two years go by and. Okay, at some point you expect to find someone's body. Doesn't always happen. I think the location where it was found is what really confounds people because first of all, it implicates family members.

[Mike Gibson]

It does.

[Mike Ferguson]

And then secondly, if they didn't know about it, why would a killer dump her body or hide her body on her family's property?

[Voicemail Caller / David Taylor]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

So make sure you check that out. All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime.

[Mike Gibson]

All the Time I am ready.

[Mike Ferguson]

We're talking about Jermaine Ross. 47 year old Jermaine Ross was a popular barber from Cahokia, Illinois. After missing an appointment, his body was found inside his home. But leading up to his death, Jermaine had alluded to having problems with unspecified people. Authorities worked to narrow down a wide suspect pool and identify the killer. Jermaine Lavelle Ross was born on November 6, 1970. His passion was barbering. Jermaine's nephew, Meche Reese, described his shop as vibrant. People came in just to hang out with Jermaine because he was the kind of person others were drawn to.

[Mike Gibson]

I love a good barbershop.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, you know, I would too. I'd love to find like a local barber shop. Maybe like something from Coming to America where people are just sitting around, you know, shooting the bull and talking about sports and. But I don't know if Those exist in 20, 26 in the smallish town I live in.

[Mike Gibson]

I think they're out there somewhere. You just have to go to the right one, go in there and, you know, I know you don't have a lot of hair left.

[Mike Ferguson]

No.

[Mike Gibson]

Because you mentioned it a lot and it's obvious.

[Mike Ferguson]

But you're looking at it right now. I can see you.

[Mike Gibson]

But you can go in there, they can lather you up a little bit, smack your head around a little bit.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay.

[Mike Gibson]

Give you a little red, maybe a little buff and shine and get you out the door.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I. I just think it would be nice to go to a place where people know, you know, your name as opposed to, like, the. And I'm not saying anything bad about the. The super cuts or the great clips or, you know, anything like that, but, you know, you don't know who you're going to get and.

[Mike Gibson]

No, I get it. It's always nice to go somewhere where they always know your name.

[Mike Ferguson]

It is.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, Norm.

[Mike Ferguson]

But here's the other thing, and I. I know for a fact I've never talked about this before, but I always thought that being a barber would be a lot of fun.

[Mike Gibson]

I think it would be fun.

[Mike Ferguson]

I don't know why, but I have no experience with cutting hair whatsoever. I just think it would be very interesting, right. To talk to different people all day. You can really have some conversations while you're doing your work. And let's face it, I do enjoy, like, taking something and making it smaller. Like cutting the grass.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Or trimming hedges or something like that. That. That's always been something that I've enjoyed.

[Mike Gibson]

Plus, you have a lot of power. Right. Because who's gonna piss off their barber? You don't. Don't ever mess with the person that cuts your hair. Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

Because. No, you might end up with a reverse mohawk or something you didn't really want. Now, I'm not talking about, like, don't mess with the Zohan. Like, I. I had this burning desire to be a. You know, to cut hair. But I always thought in the back of my mind that would be. That would be an interesting job.

[Mike Gibson]

You make a good barber. I can see it already.

[Mike Ferguson]

If a child's parents didn't have money for their haircut, Jermaine did it for free because he wanted them to look nice for school.

[Voicemail Caller / David Taylor]

Love that.

[Mike Ferguson]

Jermaine's sister, Willa Ross Patterson said in her interview for the show Real Murders on Elm street, he wasn't perfect, but Jermaine was a person that reached out and helped people. He was a community person. You know, he had a heart. And I don't know, Gibbs, if you've watched this Real Murders on Elm Street, I think it's an ID show. I watch it on hbo. Yeah, Max. And it has nothing to do with the movie. Right, but it's just murders that happen to occur on Elm Street.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's somewhere in the country, and there are a lot of streets named Elm in cities all over in its own right.

[Mike Gibson]

That's fascinating.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. And it's a really good show. Mechi Ross also noted he didn't splurge about his money at all. He didn't have a lot. But you wouldn't think that he let people stay with him that needed a place to stay. No charge, no rent, no nothing. You know, he'd give his shirt off his back. He was that person. He was a giving person.

[Mike Gibson]

I wanted to say you guys are kind of similar, but you would charge me rent, but I don't think you'd even let me stay here. I've tried. And you say no.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes.

[Mike Gibson]

Now, you did give me the shirt off your back once, but it was like, it's seen its last day, you know, and you're like, here, you want this shirt? You know, I'm like, well, it hasn't been clean in a while, and it's got all these holes in it and stuff.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, you know, people always say that. Right. This person would give you the shirt off their back. I mean, obviously we know what they're talking about, but, you know, when you hear the. About what Jermaine was like, if a kid didn't have money for a haircut but needed one, he'd do it for free.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

He'd let people stay at his place and not charge them a thing.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, that's kind of the definition of giving someone the shirt off your back.

[Mike Gibson]

Absolutely. And to be honest, you know, if I really needed a place to stay, if I really needed something, one thing I know is I could always depend on you.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, absolutely. If it was real. Now, if you just said, hey, can I stay here for no reason? Then I would be very suspicious, and I would probably turn that down. Jermaine was forced to shut down his barbershop in Cahokia due to a fire. He continued running his business from his home and also did house calls for some clients. Now, that's what I'd really like to find is someone who would come cut my hair at my house.

[Mike Gibson]

That'd be convenient because, you know, I.

[Mike Ferguson]

Don'T like to leave my house.

[Mike Gibson]

I know. I remember the days when, like, my mom would cut her hair, right? She put that kitchen chair right in the middle of the kitchen floor.

[Mike Ferguson]

And then put the bowl on top of your head. And then just a little trim around.

[Mike Gibson]

Towel around her head, like it's going to stop all the hair from getting on us and. Yeah, and cut that little bowl. Cut.

[Mike Ferguson]

In early October 2018, Jermaine missed a few appointments. On October 3rd, one of his friends brought someone over to his house to get a haircut. When they arrived at Jermaine's house, they noticed an odor and saw that the windows were covered with flies. According to one investigator, there were so many flies, it looked like a black tarp across the window.

[Mike Gibson]

Makes me a little nauseated thinking about it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, that's some real Amityville horror type stuff.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, it is. Because, you know, if there's flies, there's the babies that aren't flies yet.

[Mike Ferguson]

Maggots, most likely pertaining to the odor. And we know what odor they're talking about, right? Anytime you watch a show and there's a law enforcement professional and they talk about the odor of death, they all say the same exact thing. It's unmistakable. Once you smell it, if you smell it again, it's just there's no doubt about what it is.

[Mike Gibson]

You know, exactly what you're looking at.

[Mike Ferguson]

So, you know, these guys show up to Jermaine's house, they noticed that the door was slightly ajar. So one of the men went inside and found Jermaine's body. He then ran to the home of a nearby officer, identified by his last name, Greer. Officer Greer recalled, I was working that day and I went home on lunch and actually I live literally right around the corner, heard someone knock on the door, knocked on again, and Willie, that works at the convenience store, he was there and he said, ross is dead. Ross is dead. So I just ran out. I didn't know what kind of situation it was. Went up, the door was cracked. I could see his. The TV on, you know, the stench, I mean, it was bad. I just put my head inside the door. I called the chief, like, hey, we got a body over here. And it sounds to me like he didn't even have to go in and see the body. I mean, as soon as that smell.

[Mike Gibson]

Hit him, yeah, he knew.

[Mike Ferguson]

He knew. He knew what he was dealing with. Police initially thought Jermaine died of natural Causes due to decomposition. He had most likely been in his home for three or four days before he was found. CSI Grant Hintz from the Illinois State Police arrived to investigate the house. Hintz recalled that an officer essentially told him, he's just dead. It's a natural. Don't see any injuries. It really smells in there, and I'm going to wait outside. Okay.

[Mike Gibson]

I've seen enough.

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm good.

[Mike Gibson]

I'm going outside. You guys go ahead and take it from here.

[Mike Ferguson]

Hey, you know, I know we're harping on it, but, you know, this odor, this smell is not something that everyone can handle.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, it's. There's a few smells that I have.

[Mike Ferguson]

That you have, that I have smelled, that you have right now that you're emanating at this moment.

[Mike Gibson]

No, no, no, no. But, I mean, I've been out by a mushroom farm once that was pretty bad. Obviously, I've been. You know, there's. There's pig manure, which is not pleasant, but chicken manure from the big chicken farms. That is probably one of the worst smells that I can ever imagine. Not imagine, because I've smelled it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Right. Remember? Maybe.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. The worst smell I can.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. I don't know what you're doing at all these places. I'm assuming these are all stories in and of themselves, that you will tell it at a later date. Hence, describe details of the death scene in his interview for the show. The Real Murders on Elm Street. When he walked in, Jermaine's body was immediately to the right on the couch. He was completely Newtown. He said Germaine's home was fairly disorganized, but there didn't appear to be evidence of a struggle. He agreed that based on the level of decomposition, Germaine had been dead for at least a couple of days. CSI Hints didn't observe any obvious injuries, most likely due to the decomp. However, there was something unusual about the scene. There was a coffee table in front of the couch. On that coffee table was a can of Comet, an abrasive cleaner that is not typically used in the living room. The cleaner was also found on Jermaine's genitals.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay, that's strange. You know, I grew up in a house that either we use Comet or Ajax to clean the bathroom. I mean, to the point, look, was me and my two brothers and my dad and my mom. Hate it. Cleaning the bathroom after us guys.

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm sure they did.

[Mike Gibson]

So my mom would go in there on Saturday mornings and take a half a can of Comet and just Pour it all over the toilet. The toilet, the floor around the toilet, the sink. Said when you get this all cleaned up, then you can go enjoy your Saturday.

[Mike Ferguson]

And, and you just, you're just out there scrubbing your, scrubbing away your pee stains away and stuff like that. So, yeah, I mean, obviously there were a lot more cleaners now than there were when we were younger. Comet was one of the big ones. I mean, who didn't have a can of Comet that they used in their bathroom? But it's not something you would use in your living room.

[Mike Gibson]

No. And it can be pretty abrasive.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Especially on one's genitals, I would imagine.

[Mike Gibson]

Exactly.

[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Gibson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Gibson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

The cleaner also appeared to have been moistened and wiped on the deadbolt and interior doorknob of the house. And so if you're an investigator, Gibbs and You kind of see this detail or you're let in on this detail. What are you thinking?

[Mike Gibson]

So you're wondering, what are they trying to get rid of fingerprints off the door handle, the doorknob, and I don't know, can you dust somebody's genitals for fingerprints?

[Mike Ferguson]

I think you can get fingerprints off of a body, but, I mean, you're right. That's really the only thing that I can think of. Now, whether Comet does that or not, I don't know. But the person may not have known that. Jermaine's body was taken to the coroner's office, where X rays showed a bullet that pierced Jermaine's heart. The bullet entered through his buttocks and traveled upwards.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, wow.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay, that's a strange one. Now, we know bullets can travel through the body, but to be shot in the buttocks, as Forrest would say, and have it travel all the way up to the heart, first of all, you're at a strange angle.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, I'm saying there's a certain position someone's going to be in to get that shot off.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. You're either standing and they're like somehow underneath you firing upwards, or this person is laying down and they're kind of firing from a low position, right, right behind them, right on top of them. It's, it's strange. And so you got to figure out what to make of that. Yeah, and we already said that he was found nude, so you have to factor that in as well.

[Mike Gibson]

What kind of activities were going on at that time.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, but I mean, the thing that was evident was that Jermaine's death was not natural. Right. He was obviously murdered. Investigators returned to the house and found a bullet hole in the wood frame of the back of the couch. So the next task was figuring out who wanted Jermaine dead. Authorities called in the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, a multi jurisdictional task force comprising nearly 600 investigators from 120 local law enforcement agencies in Missouri and Illinois.

[Mike Gibson]

Now that's an impressive special force.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's a large task force. Right. 600 investigators from 120 different agencies. Officers canvassed Jermaine's neighborhood asking for information. Cahokia, and I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, is a small community just across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. It's the type of place where people care about each other. The murder was shocking to the residents because Jermaine was so well liked. Jermaine knew a lot of people and had many connections because of his work. As a barber, which only widened the suspect pool.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I'm sure it didn't help narrow it down.

[Mike Ferguson]

No, because this is a guy who interacted with a lot of people, Right. On a. On a daily basis. But you think about this being a relatively small community, and we touched on this before, right? These types of murders, they really shake. Yeah. Smaller communities. Now, if you got a larger city that is used to dealing with murders, you see it on the news. Okay. You don't know the person. It probably doesn't hit the same. But in a small community, this would hit hard.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, it would.

[Mike Ferguson]

Especially with Jermaine being a well known guy.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, normally after something like this happens, the local barbershop is just buzzing with all kind of activity.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, that would be the place. Probably. People would congregate, Right, to talk about what's going on, maybe throw around theories about who was responsible. But I don't know if that could happen in this case because Jermaine's the barber and he's the one that's been killed. One neighbor, identified as Dion H. Told police she had some information. She recalled in her recorded interview that Sunday night, around between midnight and one, I heard two gunshots. Go, pop, pop. I looked out my back window. It faces Ross's kitchen window. It's dark out, no light on in Ross's house. She explained that she looked out her back window because D. That was the general area the sound was coming from. The noise occurred in the first hour of September 30, 2018.

[Mike Gibson]

All right, so we got a potential timeline or a beginning of one.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I mean, someone who's, you know, helping to narrow down the timeline. She continued by saying, I didn't see no movement of nobody, no vehicles. And I went back to bed. And this is something I know you and I have talked about before. You know, you hear noises outside of your residence, you think, well, it could be a gunshot, it could be this, could be that. Yeah, maybe you go out to investigate, you look out your window, you don't see anything. What else are you going to do? Are you going to call the police when you don't really know what's going on? Probably not. Most people wouldn't.

[Mike Gibson]

I don't think today many people would. Maybe back, you know, 50 years ago, or not even 50, maybe 80 years ago. Maybe somebody would have. I don't know. I just don't think people are that interested on what's going on out there unless they can really see something.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, my thought is people don't want to be Wrong. I think there are a lot of people who think, oh, my gosh, I'm going to call the police, they're going to come out, nothing's going to be wrong, and I'm going to look like a fool.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

So I think that would probably keep quite a few people from calling. Dion revealed that Jermaine was having some problems in the neighborhood. They spoke to each other occasionally because she had lived there for years. Jermaine mentioned that his door was kicked in and people were after him, but she didn't know what was going on. Okay, so we're getting more pieces of the puzzle.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, that's pretty serious if someone's kicking in your door.

[Mike Ferguson]

And to say people are after me and then to all of a sudden wind up dead, it's, you know, it's something that I'm sure would at the very least pique the interest of police. Approximately 11 hours after Jermaine was found, his nephew, Mechie, or Michie Ross, I'm not sure exactly how you say it, learned about his death. He was in shock, but he knew something that could be helpful to the investigation. According to him, Jermaine was the kind of person who always spoke his mind. He said that the last time he ever saw his uncle. Jermaine said, I have some problems with some people over here.

[Mike Gibson]

You know, speaking your mind can be a really good thing, but it also can cause some problems when you speak your mind.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, it depends on who you're speaking your mind to, right? Some people will digest what you have to say and, okay, maybe agree with you or even if they don't, they'll disagree with you and a non combative way, right? But some people, they don't have that kind of filter or whatever you want to call it, where to them any sort of disagreement is like provocation for action.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But here's the second instance, right, of somebody saying that Jermaine had told them he was having problems with some people. Now, Jermaine never said exactly what his problems were. He did mention that he kept a gun on him for protection. Meche told Jermaine that his gun wouldn't matter if someone ran up on him. But Jermaine didn't seem concerned. He said he wasn't afraid to die.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay. I mean, I guess if you had that attitude, maybe it makes it a lot easier to say what's on your mind.

[Mike Ferguson]

But could that also, you know, just be bravado, Something that somebody would say, are you really not afraid to die? Or are you just trying to look tough to someone you're talking to? And this was about two months before he was killed. Michi told the real murders on Elm Street. It was almost like he knew something was going to happen, but he just didn't know what. Former State Clare County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly was one of the individuals involved in the investigation. According to Kelly, it was normal in Cahokia for people to be reluctant to talk to police due to distrust or fear for their safety. But in Jermaine's case, several people reached out right away with information. And that might be because of the type of person that Jermaine was. Right. We talked about him. He was very well liked.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I assume that when people heard he had been killed, maybe more so than others in the area with whom they didn't know as well, they wanted to really help out.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, and he was also very well connected.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes. Kendall T. Jermaine's former client, was one of these people. He said in his police interview Jermaine was a pretty cool dude. He didn't really bother nobody. Talked a lot, drunk a lot, but he didn't seem like a troublemaker or nothing like that. Kendall mentioned that he heard a younger man beat Jermaine up four to five months before his death. Okay, so if you're the police, you want to know who this younger man is?

[Mike Gibson]

Well, sure. And why did he beat him up? Was it over? What, because he mouthed off to him? Was it a bad haircut?

[Mike Ferguson]

Money? Who? You know, infidelity on somebody's part? We don't know. But I think when you beat someone up months before that person is killed, okay, police are going to want to talk to you. You're going to be on the radar. At the very least, you're going to have to be ruled out. A man named Willier mentioned that Jermaine always kept a pistol in his barber cart. I feel like that's something I would do if I was a barber.

[Mike Gibson]

Just keep it right there in your.

[Mike Ferguson]

Cart, out of sight. I mean, I would hope that it, you know, just wouldn't be sitting there where anybody could see it. But, you know, there could have been times where he's there alone. He could have been there alone a lot of times.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And felt as though he needed protection. But it also could have something to do with the fact that he kept telling people that he was having problems with other folks, and so he was a little on edge, maybe. Ronald R. Also mentioned the gun and said Jermaine was angry that someone stole it from his barbershop. He knew that Jermaine was having problems, but he didn't know what those problems were.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, like you've already said, seems like everybody knows he's got some type of problem going on, but nobody knows with who and what it's about.

[Mike Ferguson]

Ronald also mentioned that Jermaine recently came into some money because of the insurance payout from the fire that destroyed his barbershop. He had just gotten the payment a couple weeks before the murder. Jermaine said that people had talked about robbing him. So, bit by bit, Gibbs, we're getting, you know, pieces of the puzzle, and I would think to investigators, you know, they're trying to put it all together. Who would want to kill Germaine? He's having some issues with people. Well, if he came into a bunch of money, that would be a possible motive for murder.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure. You don't really want to broadcast you got a lot of money, you know, that just came in. That's not typically a good thing to do.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and Ronald even told Jermaine that. He said, you need to keep your mouth shut and stop telling these people that you got money, especially if you're over here by yourself. Then Jermaine pulled out his little gun he had on the side. He said, oh, I got something for their asses.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, but why even cause that to be a reason for people to do something?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I get what you're saying. I mean, is it natural for some people to want to, I don't know, kind of flaunt when they come into money or that they bought something expensive? Yeah, for some people it is, but it's not always the smartest thing to do. Jermaine didn't say who specifically talked about robbing him, and Ronald didn't know who it might be. So, you know, we talk about, like, these pieces kind of starting to trickle in, but investigators are still, at least with the information they have right now, not really any closer to who the actual culprits might be. Yeah, they're starting to get some noise about what the motive might be. You know, folks, for most of my life, banks have been pretty much all the same. Sometimes a little stuffy. You know, they have their fees. But Chime is changing the way people bank. No monthly fees, no overdraft fees. And their app is amazing. They unlock smarter banking for everyday people with products like MyPay, which gives you access to up to $500 of your paycheck anytime and allows you to get paid up to two days early with direct deposit. You can also earn up to 3.5% APY on savings. That's eight times higher than a traditional bank, and they're rated five stars by USA TODAY for customer service. If you need to talk to someone, you're going to get a real human 247 this is the way that banking should have been all along, and my younger self really would have benefited from Chime Chime is not just smarter banking. It's the most rewarding way to bank. Join the millions who are already banking fee free today. It just takes a few minutes to sign up. Head to chime.comtcat that is chime.comtcatt Chime.

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[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Gibson]

Said not a good thing to do.

[Mike Ferguson]

No. But also, if it was one or two people, okay, maybe that narrows your suspect pool. But if he's telling everybody that comes into the barbershop or that he knows around town, well, that suspect pool, you know, could be pretty deep.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure. And they go out to lunch with somebody or have breakfast with somebody. Oh, did you hear about such and such? Got a cash payout of X amount of dollars. He's just waving that money around.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and it was said that he showed one of his clients named Willie about $10,000 in cash, and Willie told Jermaine he should put it in the bank.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, definitely shouldn't be flashing it around. I remember, I don't know, a few months ago at the senior home, somebody in the front row is just flashing all kind of $1 bills, you know, fistful of dollars. I was like, man, you know, you shouldn't really, you know, do that. Somebody might want to try to take that away from you. Besides you giving that to me.

[Mike Ferguson]

I was gonna say, you're gonna end up with all of them eventually. So I try to.

[Mike Gibson]

I try to.

[Mike Ferguson]

What's the problem? Providing some context, in her interview for the show, Jermaine's sister, Willa Ross Patterson said that Jermaine had been working since he was young, but he never had a lot of money. Jermaine told her that he received about $25,000 from the insurance company, but she knew that sometimes he said things that weren't accurate. However, in this case, it was true. Now, you could say $25,000 is a lot of money. Some people might not think it's a lot of money, but if you're a person who's never really had money, $25,000 is a ton of money.

[Mike Gibson]

It is.

[Mike Ferguson]

And if you're a person out to get some quick cash, finding out that someone has $25,000 in cash, that could be pretty tempting for a criminal.

[Mike Gibson]

And murder might be the quick and easy way to get it. You know, people murder for less.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, no doubt about it. However much cash Jermaine actually had, it was nowhere to be found. The only cash investigators found were two $100 bills crammed under the mattress. So if they knew that he had or receive $25,000, but they can't find it, what are investigators to think?

[Mike Gibson]

Well, they had to think that somebody murdered him and then took his cash.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I don't know what else you would think. Investigators were focusing on a new lead centering around a woman named Melinda Graves, who was claiming she had information about Jermaine. She came into the station and told police she and Jermaine lived in the same area and she knew he was a barber. Melinda seemed scared and nervous and claimed people were accusing her of killing Jermaine and stealing his money. She claimed a man in a black car threatened her and demanded that she give him the money she stole from Jermaine. So this woman was really scared and she wanted to tell the police what she knew. She admitted she had been at Jermaine's house the night he died. Melinda and her friend Jasmine Madison, who was in a romantic relationship with Jermaine, walked from Jasmine's to Jermaine's house on Saturday, September 29th. Jermaine wanted to spend his money and have a good time, so they were partying with him. When they left his house, Jermaine was still alive. Melinda was adamant she didn't kill Jermaine and that Jasmine was not involved either.

[Mike Gibson]

So her and her roomie went down and had a little good time, a little party. And she's saying, after all that was done, I went on home, and he was alive and fine when we left.

[Mike Ferguson]

But she is putting herself and her friend at the home.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

The night he was murdered. But she also has this story about this mysterious man in the black car.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

Threatening her, saying, hey, give me the money that you stole from Jermaine. At first, police believed her story because in the majority of cases, the killer is a man. And, yeah, I mean, let's be honest, most killers are men.

[Mike Gibson]

That's true.

[Mike Ferguson]

Women kill. We know that. We talked about many of them over the years, but statistically, most killers are men. Investigators focused on finding the person allegedly threatening Melinda. They also needed to speak to Jasmine Madison, but she was nowhere to be found. Police were worried. They didn't know if Jasmine had been abducted and murdered or was she possibly involved and in hiding? And I'm sure one of the questions they had, Gibbs, was, you know, did Melinda come in and tell this story because she was scared or because she knew that she had to put herself at Jermaine's house that night and she wanted to get ahead of things?

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, both sound like possibilities, and.

[Mike Ferguson]

Obviously, one would most likely mean she's innocent and the other one, not so innocent?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

On October 4th, investigators re interviewed Melinda to try to get more information. She was still scared and frantic, but during this interview, her story changed. She recalled. So we're walking down the street to the dude's house. I sat down on the couch and. And were drinking Malt liquor and smoking my cigarettes. She claimed that Jermaine went into his bedroom and took some money out to show them. He then took the money back to the bedroom. Melinda got up to use the bathroom. When she returned, Jasmine and Jermaine were having sex. She decided to go into a different area of the house to give them some privacy. She admitted to walking around looking for the money. She checked his bedroom first because that was the most likely place to find it. And like you always say, Gibbs, never a good sign when someone's story changes. Especially a change like this because it's so dramatically different.

[Mike Gibson]

How strange would it be to go to this guy's house with your roommate, and when you get there, you go to the bathroom, you come out, and she's having sex with this guy?

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, it could be deemed strange. We also have to take it with a grain of salt, right? Because she's changing up her story, which means she might have a problem with the truth. Now, if you're talking college days for me, not that strange. You know, there was a lot of weird stuff going on.

[Mike Gibson]

The old sock around the doorknob.

[Mike Ferguson]

If I was lucky, yeah. Now, Melinda acknowledged that this looked bad for her, but she had a good reason to want the money. She was the guardian for her 12 year old brother and was in a bad spot financially. Her house burned down and she needed a deposit for a new place for her and her brother. Melinda said she was desperate, but she didn't find the money, so her search was pointless.

[Mike Gibson]

Just seems so weird that everybody's okay with stealing this money.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, because she needs it. She. She has a good reason for stealing the money.

[Mike Gibson]

You know, a lot of people need money, but it's never okay just to.

[Mike Ferguson]

Go steal it, right? It just sounds. It sounds strange, right? To say, well, I had a good reason to steal it. I needed it. Now this is what I needed it for. It. According to her, it wasn't for drugs or anything like that. It was because she had to take care of her brother and she needed a place to stay. But to your point, a lot of us have been in financial binds. The answer is never to go steal money from someone else.

[Mike Gibson]

Right?

[Mike Ferguson]

It's just not. She rejoined Jermaine and Jasmine, and Jermaine made a phone call to buy some cocaine. Five to seven minutes later, a man barged into the house without knocking. Melinda didn't know who he was. He demanded to know where the money was and pulled a gun out. He then shot Jermaine. Melinda said she and Jasmine fled on her Way out, she saw a black four door vehicle with a dent in the passenger side. Melinda once again expressed her fear that the man would try to find and kill her. She said she didn't call the police after she ran away because she was scared.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, that's definitely a change in the story.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I mean, it's. She's keeping some of the things similar, but the changes are massive. Right. I went looking for the money, couldn't find it. Then all of a sudden, a strange man barged in, shot Jermaine. She and Jasmine were somehow able to escape. And you have to ask, okay, how is that?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, why would he let you guys.

[Mike Ferguson]

Go if you're willing to shoot Jermaine, are you going to leave two witnesses alive? Maybe, but most likely not.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, at least with this second story she's telling, she's getting more creative.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and you have to ask the question, right? Why is she getting more creative? Why did she have to change her story in the first place? Was it because police presented her with some things that kind of disproved some of the things she had said in her first statement? I don't know that to be a fact. It's what we often see, right? People change their story to fit the facts that are presented to them. But it's a big change from when we left Jermaine was fine to we saw Jermaine shot and killed, but were able to flee unharmed. Police questioned Melinda's story because of the stark differences from her first interview where she said they partied together and Jermaine was alive and unharmed when she left. Investigators obtained security footage from the neighborhood showing a black vehicle matching Melinda's description. A man identified as Modi drove a similar vehicle. Modi knew Jasmine Madison, so investigators were hopeful there was a connection. Modi came into the station for an interview. He said he knew of Jermaine, but he had never gone to him for a haircut. When Modi was informed that his car was identified on the night of the murder, he replied, hell no, that's impossible. He claimed he was at home that night and had people who could verify this. And I'll be honest with you, when I watch any show, true crime show, especially when they have actual interrogation footage, that, to me, is often the most interesting part of a case, to see someone's reaction, real reaction to questions that are asked and then for them to give an explanation or to answer a question, only to have investigators tear a hole right into it with some other evidence and then for that person to kind of switch up I mean, that, to me, is the fascinating part. Now, Bodie right now is not doing that.

[Mike Gibson]

No.

[Mike Ferguson]

He's saying, you're telling me that you saw me in my vehicle there. And I'm telling you that's not possible because I was at home. And I have people who can prove that alibi. He said he didn't know where Jasmine Madison lived, but she had been to his house a few times. She was there last on Sunday. Although it seemed like a promising lead, it turned out to be a dead end. Mody was not involved in Jermaine's murder, so he was right to stick to his story because it was the truth. And the truth is always usually pretty easy to stick to. Yeah. And it will set you free sometimes. Yeah, Sometimes people are convicted even when they tell the truth. But eventually, another anonymous witness came forward and revealed that Jermaine was having a hard time financially before the settlement. He didn't even have running water at his house at the time of his death. He was trying to get his water turned back on.

[Mike Gibson]

That's pretty rough.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I mean, that's living rough if you have no running water. The Major Case Squad was able to locate Jasmine Madison, who had been afraid to talk to the police and was in hiding due to outstanding warrants. Jasmine insisted she wasn't a murderer, saying, I don't care what Melinda said. I know what happened. Overall, Jasmine's statement lined up with Melinda's, but Jasmine had more details. She said she and Melinda walked over to Jermaine's house on the night of September 29th. Jasmine acknowledged that she and Jermaine had a romantic relationship, and she knew that he had the settlement money. Jermaine brought out money that night. After he put it away, she and Jermaine had sex on the couch. Melinda then appeared with Jermaine's handgun. She demanded the money and shot Jermaine two times. After she shot him, Melinda told Jasmine to pour Comet on Jermaine's genitals and his legs. Afterwards, Jasmine was so frightened that she grabbed her clothes and ran home naked. So, yeah, I mentioned. Right. The stories are somewhat similar. Some aspects of them are. Jasmine definitely has more details, namely the comment being poured on Jermaine. But undoubtedly, Gibbs, the big difference here is that it wasn't a strange man who came in and shot Jermaine. It was Melinda. And unlike Melinda, Jasmine's story never changed. She maintained that her version was the truth.

[Mike Gibson]

Just trying to figure out why. Put Comet on your inner thighs and your junk.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, I don't know if Melinda thought maybe she was trying to erase evidence that Jermaine and Jasmine had sex. Like she didn't want either one of them really to be placed at the home that night. Yeah, that's the only thing I can think of. I'm also not sure this is a well thought out plan here. I don't think this was the Italian job where you spend months, you know, kind of mapping out this elaborate plan.

[Mike Gibson]

Right? Yeah, definitely a spur of the moment kind of thing.

[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Gibson]

Melinda does.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. First of all, she's already lied. She's already changed her story. And Jasmine's story puts her as the killer. So now, it doesn't mean it's true, but I would think in the eyes of the authorities, she looks to be in a worse position.

[Mike Gibson]

Yes.

[Mike Ferguson]

Other sources also told investigators that Melinda had recently been spending money on new clothes for her younger brother.

[Mike Gibson]

That's a telltale sign.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, it can be. If you remember Goodfellas after they made that big Lufthansa score, the whole thing was don't be flashy. But what did people do?

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, bought new Cadillac, came in with a new fur coat on. Yeah, they were flashy, all right.

[Mike Ferguson]

And they wound up dead. Police were able to speak to Melinda's brother, who overheard Jasmine and Melinda Talking about going to Jermaine's house and taking his money. After the shooting, the women took the Metro link to St. Louis. The gun was stored in a lunchbox, and it was disposed of somewhere on the Gateway Arch grounds. Seems like a very strange place to get rid of a murder weapon.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

[Mike Ferguson]

On the grounds of the Gateway Arch. Something visited by how many hundreds of thousands of people a year?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, a lot of thought was put into that one, I don't think.

[Mike Ferguson]

Doesn't seem like it. You know, a swamp deep in the woods.

[Mike Gibson]

Just the exit before would have been.

[Mike Ferguson]

A whole lot better, a better place. Police confronted Melinda with this new information, and she broke. She asked how long she would be away from her brother and asked what would happen if she got a life sentence, which seems like a strange question to ask. What would happen if I got a life sentence? You will spend the rest of your life in prison. Now, maybe she was asking, when could I be up for parole? Would I be up for parole? I don't know. Finally, Melinda admitted to shooting Jermaine twice, saying that she panicked after doing so. And again, I don't get the sense that, you know, Melinda is a mastermind criminal. She's not a hitman who's experienced with killing people. I don't believe. I think she learned about this money. She wanted to get her hands on this money, and she was willing to.

[Mike Gibson]

Kill to get it, and that's what she did.

[Mike Ferguson]

But like we talked about, right. I don't think there was a ton of planning that went into it. I don't know that the decisions made after it were very good. Investigators never located the money or the murder weapon, but the facts of the case and Melinda's own statement secured charges. And, you know, there are a lot of cases where authorities don't have everything, right. They don't have the murder weapon, they don't have, let's say, maybe great forensics. A lot of the evidence is circumstantial. But you know what is really nice? To have the perpetrator's own statement that they committed the crime. That's always nice.

[Mike Gibson]

Backed up by the. Oh, the person at the scene.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, her friend.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

On October 5, 2018, Melinda Graves was charged with murder and intent to kill or injure. During a press conference, Police Captain Dennis Pluth stated that robbery was the motive. On November 26, 2019, Melinda pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life. The following day, Jasmine Madison was charged with obstruction of justice for using Comment to try to remove evidence from the body. The St. Clair County State Attorney's office had taken Jasmine's case under advisement, but did not charge her until Melinda's proceedings were finished. Jasmine pled guilty to obstruction of justice and evidence tampering.

[Mike Gibson]

That was probably pretty minimal.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I actually didn't see where it said what she got as far as time, if any. I mean, it could have been a suspended sentence. I didn't actually see. I mean, in the grand scheme of things. She poured some comments, but it was on a person who had just been murdered.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, that's true.

[Mike Ferguson]

So you can look at it as, okay, all she did was sprinkle some comet to. In a way, she participated in the murder. At the very least in the aftermath.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, the COVID up of the murder.

[Mike Ferguson]

Melinda's projected parole date is October 2043. She'll only be 55 years old, Gibbs, if she gets out at that time.

[Mike Gibson]

It's a big if.

[Mike Ferguson]

It is. It is an if. But not to say that, okay, she wouldn't have spent, you know, 25 years or close to it in prison, but at 55, presumably, she would still have a lot of life to live.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Whereas that didn't happen for Jermaine Ross. And that's always tough. Not just for the victim's family and friends, but I think it's tough for anyone because it's very easy to put yourself in their shoes. How fair is it that this person at some point gets to go free, live their life? They're free to marry, they're free to travel, and we'll never see our loved one again?

[Mike Gibson]

Well, exactly. You know, I mean, you robbed him for what? Some rent, some clothes? You're saying it's okay to murder somebody for petty things like that?

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, we know what the motive was. The motive was money. It was financial. I think what's hard for people to square is ending someone's life for materialistic gain. I mean, there's very few instances where you could make the argument that ending someone's life was good. Now, there's self defense, there's things like that. Obviously, we're not talking about that here. This was just straight up greed.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure was.

[Mike Ferguson]

She was in financial straits. She needed money. She knew that Jermaine Ross had come into this amount of money and she was willing to kill him to get her hands on it.

[Mike Gibson]

And what a weird way that she did that. Decided to shoot him from the buttocks up.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and there really wasn't anything in the research that kind of laid out the positioning.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

So that's. There's. There's a lot of different ways this could have gone down, but my thought is he was either laying on his stomach and she came up behind him and shot him in the rear end, which seems like a strange place to shoot someone if you're. You're trying. But maybe she wasn't trying to come. I don't know. I can't imagine that she would shoot him while he and Jasmine were in the throes of sex. That would be pretty dangerous.

[Mike Gibson]

Jasmine would be like, what the heck, man? What are you doing? That could have went into me, but I don't know.

[Mike Ferguson]

There just really wasn't that much out there about it.

[Voicemail Caller / David Taylor]

Yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

Strange.

[Mike Ferguson]

In her interview, Jermaine's sister asked Melinda why she killed Jermaine, but she couldn't give an answer. If Melinda was telling the truth, she most likely did it because she was financially desperate and thought she could easily get away with taking Jermaine's money.

[Mike Gibson]

Seems the most plausible reason.

[Mike Ferguson]

It does. With everything we know, that does seem to be the most likely reason.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, I feel bad for Jermaine's sister, family, you know, friends, customers, you know, didn't need to happen to what happened to him. It's a shame, unfortunate, and totally senseless.

[Mike Ferguson]

Right.

[Mike Gibson]

And Melinda gets every year she's in prison. She deserves it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, absolutely. And I think some would argue that 25 is not enough, but I don't know that it's a guarantee. Right. That she'll get parole. Depends on what she's doing in prison. Is she remorseful? Who knows? But that's it for our episode on Jermaine Ross. We got a voicemail, Gibbs. You want to check that out?

[Mike Gibson]

Let's hear it.

[Voicemail Caller / David Taylor]

Hey, good morning, Mike and Gibby. This is David Taylor calling out of El Paso, Texas, and I have a couple things I've been saving. One, my call in from your Carla Faye Tucker episode, and not having anything to do with Carla Faye Tucker, I wanted to hear a little bit more about the good times you had at ou. I spent a lot of time at OU on the weekends and did the Court Street Shuffle a few times and was just wondering if anybody over that way made the trip as well, because you and I are about the same age. And then on the other one was I just listened to that Ed Gein episode one, and you were talking about sewing. And as it would be, I am a sower, so I sew everything by hand, and I was sitting here sewing on a jacket when I was Listening to good old Ed Gein sewing up a bodysuit, but just had to get a chuckle out of both of those. So, yep, as everybody says, keep your own time ticket. I don't have any recommendations, so there's enough of them out there to go around. I just sit here and listen. Thanks, and have a great day.

[Mike Ferguson]

All right. Thanks for the voicemail. Yeah, unfortunately, I did the Court street shuffle way too many times. It was the cause of me only lasting two years there and being forced to come back home and take a different route. But, I mean, that place is fun. There's nothing to do there but party.

[Mike Gibson]

That's why it used to be the number one partying university, you know, Always made that top list.

[Mike Ferguson]

It did, yeah. It was number one a lot of the years. Just because it's in the middle of nowhere, kind of. And there's nothing else to do.

[Mike Gibson]

Exactly. You know, he says he's from El Paso. I was just trying to remember that. That show we watched with that map of Texas.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, you're talking about the. The funeral director who killed the. The elderly lady.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

They didn't.

[Mike Gibson]

Jack Black.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, but they. He. That guy didn't talk about El Paso, did he? I don't know.

[Mike Gibson]

He just did the. Was it Jack Black or somebody else?

[Mike Ferguson]

But no, Jack Black played.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, but they did that map of all the different. Like what different, Right. Is. Were. And I'm just trying to think, where was El Paso on that map?

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, I don't remember. I don't know if he talked about El Paso specifically. The only part I really remember was Austin. Yeah, that's the one that everybody got a kick out of. But. But we appreciate the voicemail very much.

[Mike Gibson]

We do.

[Mike Ferguson]

Thank you. All right, buddy, that is it for another episode of True Crime all the Time. So for Mike and Gibby, stay safe and keep your own time ticking.