A 52-year-old man has been arrested in the death of a man whose torso was discovered in 2008 floating in the Ocklawaha River.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit arrested John Kelliher charged him with second degree murder for the September 2008 homicide of Everett “Peanut” Jackson. The Cold Case Unit recently received new information about Kelliher’s involvement in Jackson’s death. Cold Case detectives were planning to arrest Kelliher this week for Jackson’s murder but ironically, Kelliher was arrested on Tuesday by the Ocala Police Department on a separate case. MCSO Cold Case Unit detectives officially arrested Kelliher for Jackson’s death on Wednesday afternoon.
Jackson’s family reported him missing to the OPD on Sept. 6, 2008. Several days later, Jackson’s torso was found floating in the Ocklawaha River. The rest of his remains were never found. The MCSO then took over the investigation where several leads were developed and Kelliher was a potential suspect. However, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to make an arrest. A few years ago, the MCSO Cold Case Unit began reviewing Jackson’s case and built upon evidence that had already been collected. In January 2016, OPD interacted with Kelliher and Kellhier made statements to their officers that implicated himself as the one responsible for Jackson’s death. From there, the MCSO Cold Case Unit spent several months collecting more witness statements and were able to determine that Kelliher told multiple people that he was responsible for Jackson’s death. Kelliher even gave details to these witnesses as to how he killed Jackson, dismembered him and disposed of him.
Additionally, Cold Case Unit detectives found witnesses who said Kelliher asked to borrow their hacksaw around the time of Jackson’s disappearance. They also found a witness that said she saw Kelliher load “several heavy, black bags” into his vehicle around the time Jackson went missing as well. When interviewed on Wednesday about this case, Kelliher refused to give a statement and requested a lawyer.
“I would like to thank the men and women of our volunteer Cold Case Unit and the dedicated employees of the MCSO for their incredible work on this case,” said MCSO Sheriff Emery Gainey. “Without the tireless efforts they’ve put into Jackson’s case over the years, his family would not have the closure that they have now. This is just another example that shows homicide victims and their families in Marion County are never forgotten.”
MCSO’s Cold Case Unit is comprised of 10 volunteers who are former judges, prosecutors and detectives. The State Attorney’s Office has two active prosecutors who assist the team with their cases. The members of the Cold Case Unit are currently working 32 unsolved homicides in Marion County.
