Shirley Lyons is the mastermind of Bobby Jackson's murder in Georgia

Buckhead, Georgia is an upscale area of ​​Atlanta known for mansions, manicured lawns, and a sense of security. But on April 12, 2002, the community was shocked when a dead man was dumped outside a local church.

The shocking discovery was made by a couple walking their dog at around 10:30 p.m. They immediately called 911 and officers raced to the scene, where they found the victim wrapped in a blanket and covered with duct tape.

“We didn’t have any ID for this person. What we had was a body on the ground,” Bob Creasy, a former Atlanta Police Department homicide detective, said in the “Dead End” episode of The Real Atlanta MurdersBroadcast on Saturdays at 9/8 p.m oxygen.

Exploring the crime scene

Investigators searched the area. Around midnight, they spoke to a preacher near the crime scene who said that a 12-year-old boy had disappeared during a sleepover at the house of worship.

Officials feared that the boy's disappearance could be linked to the murder. After an Amber Alert and an APB (All-Points Bulletin) were issued, police learned that the missing boy had been picked up by his parents.

“It was just a big misunderstanding that the parents didn't tell anyone,” said JD Stephens, a former Atlanta police homicide detective.

Bobby Jackson was identified as the victim

Based on the exposed skin, investigators knew the victim was a black man. The coroner carefully removed the tape to protect any prints or forensic evidence.

Investigators discovered that the victim was bound with strips of white cloth. The time of death was determined to be between 8 and 9 p.m

“There were a number of blow injuries to the face,” said Dan Hiatt, assistant district attorney for the Griffin Judicial Circuit, Georgia. “The cause of death… was strangulation.”

Using fingerprints, investigators learned that the victim was Bobby Jackson, a 45-year-old bus driver from Atlanta. He had been fingerprinted Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Job.

Police searched Jackson's home and found no signs of violence, but discovered his car was missing and began searching for the vehicle.

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Bobby Jackson's girlfriend questioned

Investigators learned that Jackson was dating a county employee, Jessica Smith. When interviewed at police headquarters, she said she and Jackson had been together for about seven months and were engaged. She showed the police her engagement ring.

Smith said she last saw Jackson around 6:45 p.m. on April 12 when he left her apartment to go home. His body was found that day.

Investigators obtained phone records from Smith and Jackson to confirm their statements.

Investigators interviewed Jackson's workplace supervisor, Thomas Gaskin, a former MARTA superintendent. “I couldn’t think of anyone who would harm him,” Gaskin said The Real Atlanta Murders.

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Bobby Jackson's car was recovered

Four days after Jackson's body was discovered, his car was found abandoned on a highway exit 22 miles from the crime scene in Buckhead.

The vehicle was examined for evidence at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Laboratory. No blood, fingerprints or other useful evidence was found.

Investigators were doubly disappointed when analyzing the tape wrapped around Jackson's body. “There are no fingerprints, no DNA, no hair fibers, nothing that would link a murderer to this body,” said Atlanta television reporter Mark Hayes.

Shirley Lyons, Bobby Jackson's other girlfriend, shows up

Ten days after his body was found, Jackson was buried by his loved ones. Family members were shocked when a mourner, Shirley Lyons, made a tearful scene.

Investigators learned that Lyons lived in Pike County, a rural suburb an hour south of Atlanta. When investigators called Lyons, she said the victim was “the love of my life,” Stephens said. “She informed me that she was also engaged to Bobby Jackson.”

Investigators believed Jackson's murder may have been a crime of passion – the result of “a jealous lover situation,” Creasy said.

At the police station, Lyons revealed that she had been dating Jackson for a long time, Stephens said, adding, “She showed me her hand with a ring on it.”

During the interview, Lyons claimed that he left their Zebulon home around 6:45 p.m. on the night of Jackson's murder. Her story matched the one Smith told authorities.

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Phone records reveal the timeline

When Jackson's phone records were received, investigators saw that Jackson was with Smith at the time she stated. At that point, investigators obtained a search warrant to search Lyon's Zebulon home for tape and other evidence.

Lyons was at work when investigators arrived at her home. Inside, they found apparent bloodstains on the carpet and curtains, the pattern of which matched the comforter that covered Jackson's body.

“It was an aha moment,” Creasy said. “It just tied everything together and let us know exactly where this crime took place and that Shirley Lyons was involved.”

When Lyons returned home, she told investigators, “I didn’t want them to kill him. “I paid someone to come here and beat up Bobby,” Stephens said. “I stopped her right there and read her Miranda rights.”

At the Pike County Sheriff's Office, Lyons gave a full statement, which was recorded. She claimed she paid $300 to Keith Lee Turner, a convicted drug dealer who also goes by other names including “New York,” to ambush and beat Jackson. She insisted she had nothing to do with the murder.

Turner was arrested at his apartment, where detectives found Jackson's missing necklace and ring. While in custody, Turner claimed Lyons was “the mastermind behind this whole thing,” Stephens said said and that she had hired him to kill Jackson and offered $2,000.

On the night of April 12, Turner said, Lyons had a gun and duct tape at the ready and told him to tie Jackson up with torn sheets. Turner used the gun to hit Jackson in the face and keep him at bay while they tied him up, he said. “She gave me work gloves,” Turner can be heard saying in one recording.

According to Stephens, after Lyons told him to tie Jackson up, Turner said, “When I tied him up… and put a noose around his neck. If he then stretches out his legs, he will suffocate.”

Turner and Lyons wrapped the victim in duct tape and threw him into Jackson's car. Turner dumped Jackson's body in Buckhead, he said, purely by chance after he got lost. He threw away the gun, which was never recovered.

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To learn more about what happened to Jackson, watch the “Dead End” episode of The Real Atlanta Murders, which airs Saturdays at 9/8 p.m oxygen.