Melvin David Rees American serial killer Country: USA

1. Biography of Melvin David Rees
2. The Murder of Margaret Harold
3. The Murder of the Jackson Family

Biography of Melvin David Rees

Melvin David Rees, an American serial killer, committed five murders in Virginia and Maryland between 1957 and 1959. He killed and raped Margaret Harold, whom he encountered on a highway near Annapolis. Two years later, Rees killed four members of the Jackson family near Fredericksburg, Virginia. After his arrest, Rees confessed to two other murders, and authorities believed he was also involved in two more.

Before his apprehension, Rees was a well-known jazz musician in Washington, D.C. Melvin David Rees was born in 1933, and little is known about his childhood and upbringing. In the early 1950s, Rees attended the University of Maryland, College Park, near Washington, D.C. Students described him as a talented musician who excelled at playing the saxophone, piano, and clarinet. Rees left the university to pursue his music career. He traveled throughout the District of Columbia, playing in local jazz bars.

In 1955, Rees was arrested for attempting to forcefully drag a 36-year-old woman into his car. However, the woman did not press charges, and the case against Rees was dropped.

The Murder of Margaret Harold

On June 26, 1957, Margaret Harold and her boyfriend, a U.S. Army sergeant, were driving near Annapolis when Rees, driving a green Chrysler, forced them off the road. Rees threatened the couple with a gun and demanded money and cigarettes. When they refused, Rees shot Harold in the face at close range. The terrified soldier fled the scene and ran through several rural fields until he reached the nearest farmhouse, where he called the police. When authorities arrived, they discovered the naked body of a woman who had been sexually assaulted. Investigating the area where the crime occurred, they stumbled upon an abandoned block building and noticed that the basement windows were broken. Inside, investigators found a collection of pornographic photographs depicting violence and autopsied female bodies. Among the photos was a graduation picture of Wanda Tipton, a University of Maryland alumna from 1945. The police managed to contact Tipton, who initially claimed not to know a tall, dark-haired man – the description the soldier gave of the killer. However, she later admitted to knowing Rees, who had told her that he got married and ended their relationship.

Due to a lack of new evidence or suspects, and the limited state of forensic science in 1957, Harold's murder case remained unsolved for two years until Rees struck again.

The Murder of the Jackson Family

On January 11, 1959, the Jackson family – Carroll Jackson, his wife Mildred, and their young daughters Janet and Susan – disappeared after visiting relatives near Apple Grove. The Jacksons were an ordinary family with no known enemies, making their disappearance highly mysterious. A relative who was also traveling back from Apple Grove stumbled upon Carroll's abandoned car on the side of the road. She called the police, but there were no signs of a struggle in the vehicle, and extensive searches for the missing family proved unsuccessful.

Almost two months later, on March 4, two men discovered Carroll Jackson's decomposing body in a ditch near Fredericksburg. He had been shot in the back of the head, with his hands tied behind his back. After retrieving the body, the police found the lifeless body of 18-month-old Janet Jackson beneath him. The autopsy revealed that the girl had been thrown into the ditch while still alive and suffocated under the weight of her father's body. On March 21, the bodies of Mildred and Susan were found in a forest near Fredericksburg. Before killing them, the perpetrator had tortured and sexually assaulted both of them. Shortly after the Jackson family's disappearance, a local couple informed the police that they had been frightened by a tall, dark-haired man on the same day. This man was driving behind them and passed their old model blue Chevrolet. He blinded them with his headlights, causing their car to veer off the road. The menacing man got out of his car and approached the couple, who sensed danger and managed to drive away. After Mildred and Susan's bodies were discovered, the police found a red button from Mildred's dress near the building close to where the bodies were found. This discovery indicated that the abductor had held them captive in that building. Fresh tire tracks from a car were also found near the building. When investigators connected the murder of the Jackson family with Margaret Harold's murder, considering the sadistic nature of the crimes, there was no doubt that one perpetrator was responsible.

An anonymous source, later identified as Glenn Moser from Norfolk, Virginia, sent a letter to the Fredericksburg authorities, suggesting they look into Melvin Rees. Moser explained that Rees often engaged in intoxicated philosophical discussions, during one of which he insisted that murder could be acceptable. Rees, under the influence of Benzedrine, confessed to Moser that he considered killing a part of the "human experience" and expressed eagerness to have such an experience. This conversation took place a day before the Jackson family's disappearance. When Moser confronted Rees about the Jackson murders, Rees did not admit his guilt but also did not deny it, simply evading the question. Melvin stood trial and was found guilty of the murders of the Jackson family and Margaret Harold. He received a life sentence and died of a heart attack in prison in 1995.