An eight-year-old murder case has been reopened, and family members say the pain of losing their family matriarch still lingers.
Mattie Mae Jackson was 87 years old and still mourning the loss of her husband Bruce when she was attacked and fatally stabbed inside her home on Rankin Street on the night of July 10, 2003.
“The family hadn't heard from for a few days,” Atlanta homicide Det. Vince Velasquez said. “When they went to the house, they found her stabbed to death, and her purse taken.”
Jackson had been stabbed multiple times inside her Midtown home.
Police say there was evidence that Jackson put up a fight, with her purse strap lying under her dead body and the appearance that it had been torn away from her.
“She was fighting to keep what she had,” Velasquez said.
Jackson’s granddaughter, Tracy Jackson, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she couldn’t understand how anyone could attack her grandmother.
“It’s not like you were breaking into a home where there was a person who could put up a fight,” Tracy Jackson said. “Did you really have to stab her 25 times?”
A separate fraud investigation turned up stolen checks with Jackson’s name on them.
“People said they got them from Justine Wimberly,” Velasquez said. “She was a flim-flam artist scamming elderly people in the area.”
Wimberly has an extensive arrest history on charges of theft and fraud, and investigators believe she and one other person may have been inside Mattie Jackson’s home the night of her death.
“I think there were two people,” Velasquez said. “While she was fighting Mattie Jackson, somebody else is robbing her.”
Wimberly has been in jail twice on theft and fraud charges since Jackson's death and is currently out.
Police do not where Wimberly is now. But they believe Wimberly went door-to-door soliciting senior citizens in order to gain entrance into their homes and likely steal from them around the time of Jackson's murder.
Now, investigators are looking for anyone who might know about any interaction Wimberly may have had with Mattie Jackson.
“The question is, who knew [Wimberly]?” Velasquez asked.
Tracy Jackson said her family is still reeling from Mattie Jackson’s death.
“It was a huge loss,” she said. “If you can imagine losing something that is very dear to you, and how you would feel in that moment, that’s how we feel times 100.”
Tracy Jackson said her grandparents organized their family gatherings around New Years Day, rather than Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“It was very festive, and we always took time to reflect on our blessings,” she said.
The family hopes someone who knows something about the murder will come forward.
“People say time heals all wounds,” Tracy Jackson said. “That’s not necessarily true. Time is just a reminder of what you lost.”
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477. A reward is available for information leading to an arrest or conviction. for
About the Author
