Arrest made in Palm Bay Christmas Day double homicide

Jamarcus Simpson was arrested at the St. Johns County jail

PALM BAY, Fla. - Police have arrested an 18-year-old suspect in connection with the shooting deaths of two teenagers in a remote area of Palm Bay known as “The Compound” on Christmas Day last year.

Jamarcus Simpson was arrested at the St. Johns County jail facility, where he was being held on unrelated charges, and is facing two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, according to Palm Bay Police.

The Chief announced the arrest in a press conference on Wednesday, almost one year after the bodies of Jeremiah Brown, 14, and Trayvon Anthony, 16, were found by a passerby on the side of the road in The Compound, an undeveloped area often used for recreational activities.

The investigation was “exhaustive” and involved the cooperation of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. He said the motive for the killings is still under investigation, but what is clear is that the two victims were “brutally executed” and left to die in an open field on Christmas night, which also happened to be Anthony’s 16th birthday.

“Jamarcus Simpson is a coldblooded killer who left our two victims to die alone in the middle of nowhere so their families or anyone else would never be able to find them,” The Police Chief said. “Their families would never be able to spend another holiday, celebrate another birthday or hear the laughter of their children ever again.”

Brown and Anthony were students at Melbourne High School and Bayside High School, respectively. They had recently moved to the area from New Jersey and South East Palm Bay. According to the family of Brown, he was a kind, loving and respectful boy who came from a Christian family. They said he was on the family prayer line every third Sunday.

The family of Anthony could not be reached for comment.

The police are working to prevent further violence in The Compound and urged the public to stay away from the area, which is not zoned as a recreation area and is mostly privately owned.

He also thanked the community for their support and assistance in the investigation and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

“This case is a tragic reminder of the senseless violence that plagues our society and the devastating impact it has on the families and friends of the victims. We hope that this arrest will bring some measure of justice and closure to them.”