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Jessica Newcomb, a 21-year-old mother and s*x worker, was shot to death in a Mobile, Alabama, hotel room after an argument with the shooter in May 2017. A third person and witness to the crime present inside the room at the time the shooting occurred was able to call 911 while performing CPR on the victim, but to no avail. Cops found her lying on the floor with a fatal gunshot wound.
A man named Frederick Knight was arrested the following day and charged with Newcomb's murder. Crime authorities believed it was a s*xual encounter and attempted robbery. Years later, he pleaded guilty to an included charge of manslaughter.
The First 48 on A&E chronicles the shooting death of Jessica Newcomb in an episode, Tricked; Rogue Gun, slated to air this Friday, March 31, at 8:00 pm ET. The synopsis states:
"In Mobile, Ala., a 21-year-old woman is shot dead in her hotel room by a mysterious visitor; when a 42-year-old music producer is found riddled with bullets in his Gwinnett County apartment, clues point toward a madman on a shooting spree."
Jessica Newcomb from Hattiesburg was fatally shot in front of her friend Heather Wallace
Jessica Newcomb was originally from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and had a 5-year-old son at the time. Her mother claimed that the 21-year-old was highly involved in drugs and was allegedly forced into prostitution. When Newcomb was fatally shot on May 24, 2017, she was staying at the Budget Inn Hotel located at 156 West Interstate 65 Service Road in Mobile, Alabama with a friend, who called 911.
Authorities arrived at the hotel sometime around 9:47 am and found Newcomb fatally wounded from a gunshot wound to the chest in room number 305. She was lying on the floor between the two beds. Mobile Police Department detective Jermaine Rogers reported that "she was laying on her back between the two beds in the room" and died from the grave injuries she had sustained.
The 21-year-old's friend and only witness to the crime, who was later identified as Heather Wallace, was in the room at the time of the shooting. Detective Rogers stated that Wallace told police she was asleep in one of the beds when the incident occurred.
Reports state that "she [Heather Wallace] was laying in bed and was awakened by Jessica Newcomb laying on her." The former further detailed the incident, claiming that she only opened her eyes to find a black man standing over her. The witness later told authorities that she did not know the shooter at the time and that he was demanding money from the victim before shooting her.
How was Jessica Newcomb's shooter identified and what did he reveal?
During the investigation, surveillance footage showed the alleged shooter dressed in a red shirt and black pants, wearing gold-trimmed glasses. He arrived at the hotel at 9:35 am in a maroon colored Toyota Corrolla. The clothing description and a distinct emblem on the red shirt linked the shooter to his workplace, Hungry Howie's Pizza. He was eventually identified as the 27-year-old Frederick Knight.
Reports state that the two started talking on the Backpage.com website when Knight asked Newcomb for oral s*x and she replied "that it would be for the amount of $60." He claimed he gave her $40 and Xanax pills worth another $10. But after receiving oral s*x, he asked her to return the money and pills. He claimed he shot the 21-year-old when she refused to comply.
The following day, Frederick Knight was arrested from his home once investigators searched his vehicle, which was captured on surveillance. Authorities later called Jessica Newcomb's shooting death "an act of prostitution that went wrong.
A&E's The First 48 will further delve into the case on Friday.
