Hobart Police are renewing a call for information on the homicide of two women two years ago Monday.
The department is still offering $5,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to a criminal conviction in the deaths of Destiny Loreal Jackson, 20, and Nazirah Elizia Ali Muhammad, 19. The two were found dead at around 3:30 p.m. November 4, 2022, in the 400 block of Ruta Drive in the Haven Hobart Apartments, just east of North Lake Park Avenue, the Post-Tribune previously reported.
“Hobart Police responded to the 400 block of Ruta Drive in Hobart, in reference to a welfare check,” Captain Nicholas Wardrip said in a release Monday. “Upon arrival, officers subsequently located both Nazirah Muhammad and Destiny Jackson dead inside their apartment. Both women had been shot and their deaths ruled homicides.”
A relative of Jackon’s asked the police for a welfare check after she hadn’t heard from her in two days when they usually spoke every day, the Post-Tribune reported. The crime scene and surrounding areas were secured and searched for evidence.
Jackson was the youngest of eight. Her family told police she had a “huge impact” on them, with an “amazing heart,” was extraordinarily forgiving and went out of her way for others. She reconnected with a niece and nephew about six months before she died and built a “real friendship.”
Jackson’s sister, Sha Coleman, said Monday that she and the family were at Jackson’s gravesite remembering her. After two years of little information, she’s angry that police – through no fault of their own — seem no closer to solving the crime than they were when it happened.
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“These detectives are working so hard; (Det. Mike) Gallagher is like our family now, always checking in with us. But spending two years with this, we want answers,” Coleman said. “I helped Destiny move into that apartment, and I helped pay her rent. I knew my sister, and I don’t know anyone who would’ve climbed through a balcony window to hurt her.
“What was brought into her life, and now our lives?”
Nazirah was fun-loving with an “infectious smile” who made everyone laugh, her family told investigators. She said she was a “Mommy’s daughter.” She grew up near St. Louis as a “talented dancer” traveling to different states for shows. She was a beauty who was a hair show model and her face was used in art show galleries.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact Gallagher at 219-942-4991 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.