Family demands justice, answers in weekend homicide
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – The family of a 25-year-old Battle Creek Man is looking for answers after Lansing police charged three men in connection to his homicide.
“He was protective of his family,” said Zaccari Taylor’s mother Melody Shaw. “Like he didn’t want anyone disrespecting or touching any of his family.”
Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosbee said during a Tuesday press conference that officers were called around 7 a.m. Sunday for a complaint of multiple people fighting on the 2100 of Georgetown Blvd.
Later, officers were told that two people left the home with Taylor. Further investigation led police to a house nearly five miles away on the 1400 block of W Malcolm X St. Police discovered Taylor dead. Sosebee said Taylor’s body had been dismembered in an attempt to destroy evidence.
The location where Lansing Police responded originally on Sunday.
The location where Lansing Police say Taylor’s body was found.
Alexander Alston lives in the neighborhood where Taylor’s body was found. He came home Sunday to find a line of police cars and the crime scene tape streaming around the house.
“It’s not uncommon for police to be at this location,” Alston said. “But this time it was a little more serious and I was trying to figure out the severity of the situation because my children wanted to come out to play.”
He said the police did not give him any answers at the time.
The news of Taylor’s death was a shock to his mother. “I broke down and I just… it killed me,” said Shaw. “To find out who done it is a whole other issue.”
Zacarri Taylor (Courtesy Mihkaela Meadows) Zacarri Taylor (Courtesy Mihkaela Meadows) Zacarri Taylor (Courtesy Mihkaela Meadows) Zacarri Taylor (Courtesy Mihkaela Meadows) Zacarri Taylor (Courtesy Mihkaela Meadows) Zacarri Taylor (Courtesy Mihkaela Meadows)
Marcus Hayes, 35, and Leonard Hayes, 42, are both charged with open murder in Taylor’s death. Terrence Jones, 37, faces a charge of mutilation of a dead body and a charge of being an accessory after the fact.
Court records show the bond for both Marcus and Leonard Hayes was denied by 54-A District Court Judge Cynthia M. Ward. Ward set a bond of $200,000 cash or surety for Jones, court records show.
All of these men in this case have prior criminal histories. Jones is currently on parole for a murder conviction. Marcus Lee Hayes spent the majority of the last decade in prison following plea deals for criminal sexual conduct in 2012 and cocaine possession in 2018. Leonard Hayes has also spent time in prison. He entered a guilty plea to cocaine possession in 2002. He was also sentenced for firing a weapon toward a building in 2017.
Shaw and other family members said Taylor knew some of the men and said Leonard was close to the family. “We call him Lenny because we knew him for so long,” said Briana Snyder, one of Taylor’s sisters.
“He’s like family to us I can’t believe he would do that and what would bring you to that point,” said Shaw.
While his family grieves, Taylor’s family said he leaves behind a legacy of hard work and caring for those closest to him. “Always be strong and take care of your family and protect them,” said Shaw.
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