Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Man, 18, charged in slaying
LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock police on Thursday arrested an 18-year-old suspect charged with capital murder in a January homicide, but the family of the victim say that more people were involved, and while they are happy the suspect was arrested, they want to see more done.
Jordan Parkinson surrendered to police Thursday, according to an arrest report, and is charged with capital murder in the Jan. 8 death of Jadon Shackelford, 21, in Meriwether Park.
“It is not the end; it’s very much the beginning,” said Hailey Shackelford, Jadon’s mother, of the arrest.
The arrest was “a great relief,” Hailey Shackelford said, but the family still thinks that other people were complicit in Jadon’s killing, even if their charges don’t rise to murder.
“We’re just waiting for the rest of them, so maybe we can exhale a little bit more,” Hailey Shackelford said.
“There are more,” agreed Lynne Johnson, Jadon’s grandmother. “We look forward to those being arrested and held accountable.”
The case is “by no means” closed by the arrest, police spokesman Sgt. Eric Barnes said, and investigators are still looking for more details. However, the case has been closed, he said, in the sense that little information can be made public.
The time between the killing and the arrest has been unimaginably hard for the family, Hailey Shackelford said, knowing that the people that did it are free while “my child is in an urn on my table.”
Despite the pain, the community has been very supportive, Jadon’s mother said. She visits his shrine in the park almost daily, and strangers will approach her and offer their sympathy. She’s been invited to a closed social media group where parents who lost their children to violent crime can support one another and look for answers.