Las Vegas officials identify a homicide victim whose body was found in a barrel in Lake Mead

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The remains of a man who was shot in the head and stuffed into a rusted barrel found on the shore of Lake Mead after the water level dropped were identified Thursday as an Arkansas man whose decades-old killing remains unsolved.Edward Lelburian Jackson was in his mid- to late 50s when he died, Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse said. Authorities are looking for people to come forward to help solve Jackson’s killing.There was no evidence directly linking the killing to organized crime in nearby Las Vegas despite longstanding speculation, although a connection hasn't been ruled out, police said. An expert on mob activity in the city said the case bears the “earmarks” of a mob hit and that questions still linger.The discovery sparked memories of Las Vegas' mob eraJackson was identified with the help of a bone sample sent for genealogy profiling, along with three angles of a composite face and clothing Jackson was wearing when he died, Rouse said.“We were able to confirm that the remains were in fact Edward Jackson,” she said.The discovery of the barrel by boaters in May 2022 sparked memories of the city’s mob era, which lasted from the 1940s to the mid-1980s.

Organized crime helped build up Las Vegas, and a body stuffed in a barrel was known to signify a mob killing.Jackson, believed to be from Hot Springs, Arkansas, had a brief criminal history in the early 1980s in Salt Lake City, Utah, which included one charge of aggravated arson and conspiracy to commit fraud, said Robert Price, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department homicide lieutenant.It's unclear why Jackson was in Las VegasPrice said there is nothing to tie the killing to organized crime. He added, however, that it hasn’t been ruled out.Jackson's family told investigators that he liked to travel and detectives found records of him in California, where he lived with his wife in the early ’70s. His family said they last saw him in Arkansas in the early ’80s, and it is unclear why he was in Las Vegas.

Homicide detectives will continue working to figure out what happened to him, said Price."It will never be closed until we solve it,” he said.Authorities had already said the man was shot, and they estimate he was killed in the early 1980s.Jackson had not been reported missingThe man had been wearing a button-down short-sleeve shirt, light blue jeans, a silver wristwatch and blue-and-wh… Las Vegas officials identified a man whose body was found in a rusted barrel at Lake Mead. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas authorities have identified a homicide victim whose remains were found in a rusted barrel on a Lake Mead shore after the lake’s level was depleted amid drought, officials announced Thursday.Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse identified the victim, who was shot once in the head, as Edward Lelburian Jackson.

He was from Arkansas and was in his mid to late 50s when he died. Authorities said Jackson’s killing is unsolved and that they are investigating.Jackson was identified with the help of a bone sample sent for genealogy profiling, along with three angles of a composite face and clothing Jackson was wearing when he died, she said.“We were able to confirm that the remains were in fact Edward Jackson,” she said.The discovery of the barrel by boaters in 2022 sparked memories of the city’s mob era, which ended in the mid-1980s. And homicide detectives are going to continue to work to figure out what happened to him, said Price."It will never be closed until we solve it,” he said.Authorities had already said the man was shot, and they estimate he was killed in the early 1980s.The man had been wearing a button-down short-sleeve shirt, light blue jeans, a silver wristwatch and blue-and-white tennis shoes.Price said the family didn’t report him missing.“They knew that he had traveled the country, would show up when he showed up, just to say hi.

But they didn’t think anything other than that. They just figured he was out and about,” he said.The Mob Museum in Las Vegas had suggested the victim could be connected to the mob. speculating it could be George “Jay” Vandermark, a gambling machine cheater trusted by the mob to oversee slot machine operations at the Stardust casino; William Crespo, a drug-runner who became a federal informant; or Johnny Pappas, who owned a boat at Lake…

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas officials identified a homicide victim Thursday whose remains were found in a rusted barrel on a Lake Mead shore after the lake’s level was depleted amid drought.Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse identified the victim as Edward Lelburian Jackson, who was from Arkansas and in his mid to late 50s when he died.The discovery by boaters in 2022 sparked memories of the city’s mob era, which ended in the mid-1980s. Organized crime helped build up the city, and a body stuffed in a barrel was known to signify a mob killing.But while Jackson had a brief criminal history in the early 1980s in Salt Lake City, Utah, which included one charge of aggravated arson and conspiracy of fraud, investigators said Thursday they do not have information to support theories that the man's death was mob-related.Jackson's family told investigators that he liked to travel, but it is unclear why he was in Las Vegas.Authorities had already said the man was shot, and they estimate he was killed between the mid-1970s and early 1980s, based on the type of shoes found with him.The man had been wearing a button-down short-sleeve shirt, light blue jeans, a silver wristwatch and blue-and-white tennis shoes.The Mob Museum in Las Vegas had suggested the victim could be connected to the mob. The water level of the 90-year-old reservoir has dropped, exposing areas that were previously underwater.