by Brian Smith
“So, what happened to Mr. Ment?”
“I moved onto the bed, I moved on top of him, and I started doing my thing. The kid was painfully crying and begging for God. When he started doing that, he moved closer to the young guy and asked him, ‘Is that what those three girls did, when you and your friends raped, beat, and finally murdered them? Did they beg for God, too? Did they?’”
Author’s Note: I was surprised to hear this part, because it had not been in the news---even when I was investigating the Madison Greene case myself---that she and her friends had been raped. It was only revealed publicly that the girls had been kidnapped and killed. I called my source close to the Greene family right after my meeting with Star-Light and asked him about it, and he wouldn’t come out and one hundred percent admit to me that they had been raped, but I could hear it in his voice. I’m not quite sure why the families of the girls would want to keep that detail hidden from the public or why they didn’t bring it to light during the trial, but I guess they had their reasons for not doing so. What those reasons were, I don’t know.
“Did he kill Mr. Ment in front of you, Star-Light?”
“Yeah. It was so surreal and scary, and I honestly thought he was going to kill me, too. You know, since I was a witness and all, but he didn’t. After I finished my business, he placed a pillow over the kid’s head, put the barrel of his gun to it, and said, ‘This is for Madison Greene and her friends.’ Then, he pulled the trigger. I nearly crapped myself, I was so scared. But he handed me my money and asked if he could give me a ride back to my spot on the street, and I told him no. I got the hell out of that hotel room as fast as possible and I didn’t look back.”
“Did you feel sorry for Mr. Ment?”
“I did, yeah, at first. But then I looked up Madison Greene and read everything that had happened to her and her friends. I didn’t feel so sorry for him after that, or what would happen to the other boys. Honestly, they got what they deserved.”
THE DEATH OF LOUIE O’BRIEN
Louie O’Brien’s body was discovered the same night as Jimmy Ment’s was discovered by police, as the two men were placed within the overgrown ditch in the exact positions as Jane Hackler and Bobbie Thompson were found. While Mr. Ment’s death was ruled as murder by a single gunshot bullet in the head, Mr. O’Brien’s death was ruled by police as murder by extreme brute force. Given to what Mr. O’Brien’s passion and profession was in life, it’s not really a surprise this would be the case. What would be the surprise, is the manner in which the extreme brute force was carried out.
Louie O’Brien was suspected for many years as being the sole benefactor of the many rumored UFA’s in Arkansas, and most of the South for that matter. (Author’s Note: UFA: Underground Fighting Arenas. I won’t go into very much detail about them, as I covered them extensively in another investigative report, but here’s the jiff of what they are: UFA’s are like professional underground MMA fighting tournaments held, usually, every other week. Except, there’s one key difference between UFA’s and other MMA fighting tournaments---they’re illegal. Hence, the “underground” part of the equation. However, even so, they are still treated as if they were legal. They have professional fighters, professional referees, and they have doctors and other important staff on duty when a bout is taking place. And the cash flow? Let’s just say, any of the legal MMA fighting tournaments would be extremely jealous if they knew how much “tax free” money was being passed around on any given fight night. It was no wonder then the Hill family---who again, most suspected as leading the Southern chapter of the Irish Mafia---loved the kid and his father.)
Not only was he suspected as being the head honcho over the illegal sport, he was also suspected as being one of the top fighters among the different UFA’s, as well. And it wasn’t all that surprising to me when I began to ask around about Mr. O’Brien’s death, that many of the people in that world said he was a dominant force within the illegal sport. Standing 6’7” and weighing nearly 250 pounds, most of that being muscle, he clearly could be a very tough and formidable opponent to face and beat. But that also got me thinking: How does a man of that size, with that much experience in fighting, get beaten to death? The answer was truly a hard pill to swallow, as it was both shocking and terrifying.
Just like with Star-Light, my main source of information about what exactly happened to Mr. O’Brien and how Mr. Alexander was involved in his killing, didn’t want their real name being used in this investigative report. So, I will refer to my source as Moon-Light.
Moon-Light was apart of the same UFA scene as Mr. O’Brien, except he wasn’t apart of the top brass or really even that close to the main man. He was merely an up-and-coming fighter trying to make a name for himself. However, with that being said, that didn’t mean he hadn’t came into contact with Mr. O’Brien while trying to make it to the top of the UFA food chain. In fact, he’d met and spoken to Mr. O’Brien quite a bit in the past few weeks before Mr. O’Brien’s untimely death, as he was beginning to beat some major players within the underground and highly illegal game.
“So, Mr. O’Brien was beginning to take notice of you right before he was killed?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Moon-Light replied. “It really sucks he was killed like he was, because I was probably on my way to being the top fighter of the sport. Which would’ve meant I would’ve been making some serious bread. More money, meant more to life: cars, big houses, women…anything I could’ve dreamt of having, would have been mine.”
“You don’t seem at all upset, other than losing out on having ‘more’ life, that Mr. O’Brien was killed.”
“Why would I be upset. The kind of world I live and work in…most guys don’t make it to their thirties. You live hard, you die young. What happened to Mr. O’Brien, happens to a lot of dudes that get careless in our game. He’s just another causality of the life we choose to live.”
“But how he died…do you consider that normal, pertaining to the lifestyle you speak of?”
“No. That motherfucker who knocked off Mr. O’Brien…that motherfucker was some kind of different beast I’ve never seen before. He was…I don’t know, man. He was just different.”
“Tell me what happened, then, so I can understand what you mean.”
The UFA event that was going on that night, the night Mr. Alexander had killed Jimmy Ment, started around 8:45 p.m., and took place on the bottom floor of a parking garage the Hill family owned. There were exactly four fights on the card, with Mr. O’Brien headlining the card. Moon-Light was fighting in the match right before the main event.
“What time did your match begin?” I asked.
“Around 10:15 that night. The first two matches went the distance.”
“Did you beat your guy?”
“Yeah. I knocked him out pretty fucking quickly. Wasn’t much of a fight, you know?”
“So, what time would you say the main event began?”
“Around 10:30 or so.”
“When did Mr. Alexander come into the equation?”
“It was probably about ten minutes after it began, right after our announcer called the names of the fighters.”
“What was everyone’s reaction to some mysterious guy from the crowd, entering the ring with the fighters. Did they try to remove him right away?”
“Yeah…they tried. And they failed miserable. Mr. O’Brien tried to remove the guy personally, but this dude was too fast and too skilled for him. And he was nowhere near the boss’s height and weight, either. It was pretty freaky to watch. He was doing some Bruce Lee shit, man.”
“He took O’Brien down, then?”
“Yeah. But that’s it. He just threw him to the ground. When the referee and the fighter Mr. O’Brien was supposed to fight moved closer to this dude, that’s when he pulled a gun out. Everybody sort of just froze in place, wondering what was about to go down, for real.”
“Well, I know from the police reports that Mr. O’Brien wasn’t shot to death. He was beaten to dea
th. So, pulling the gun was to get everyone’s attention.”
“Exactly. He wanted all eyes on him, and he got exactly that. After getting everybody to look at him, he addressed the crowd while keeping his gun locked on Mr. O’Brien.”
“What did he say?”
“He told everybody the deal. You see, the motherfucker had walked into the fighter’s circle with a sleek, black briefcase in hand. He told everybody that inside the briefcase, was one million dollars. And the case would go to anyone willing to participate in his game. The game being, beat the hell out of Mr. O’Brien until he wasn’t breathing anymore.”
“Jesus. And they did it?”
“Hell yeah, they did it. Do you think any one of those fighters was making that kind of money? Hell no. Mr. O’Brien and the rest of those mafia cats were, sure, but the lowly, dumb fighters were making chump change in comparison. Most, including some of the bigger drawls, couldn’t even feed their families on the money Mr. O’Brien was paying them to fight for him. So, yeah…every one of them pounced on him the moment that dude stepped away from Mr. O’Brien, leaving the briefcase next to our fearless leader.”
“How many of the fighters participated in beating Mr. O’Brien to death?”
“All of them. So…ten to fifteen.”
“Did you participate?”
“Yeah. I did. And I don’t regret it for a second. I mean, let’s face facts here. Mr. O’Brien wasn’t exactly a great man, nor was he an innocent man. Killing him, was like killing a devil. And I have to admit---after it was all settled, and I had my cut of the money, which was about ninety thousand or so, I walked away feeling pretty good about myself. Besides, it wasn’t like the UFA scene was going to go down with him. So, the way I see things---I took care of a bad person, claimed my biggest payday yet, and still have a job doing what I love to do. To me, it was a win-win situation.”
“What was Mr. Alexander doing, while all of you were taking care of Mr. O’Brien?”
“That motherfucker watched. He stood off to the side and watched us beat Mr. O’Brien to death. And after we were through, and the man was dead, that dude walked over to Mr. O’Brien, picked up the body, and left.”
“One last question: Did you fear retaliation from Mr. O’Brien’s father or his father’s associates?”
“Nah. We all knew they wouldn’t be able to pinpoint Mr. O’Brien’s murder on any of us, as long as all of us played dumb. Besides, they would all be putting full attention on finding and getting their hands on that crazy dude. Not us.”
THE HILL FAMILY MASSACRE
Sammy Hill, his father, and most of the Family that worked for Hill Sr., was killed on the same night as both Jimmy Ment and Louie O’Brien. However, Sammy Hill’s body was not placed in the same area as the other two boys. The reason for this is unknown to me, however, I can speculate. But first, I need to introduce my source for the information that shall follow, pertaining to what exactly happened to most of the Hill Family.
Sun-Light had worked for Hill Sr. for the better part of fifteen years, ever since he was eighteen years old. He’d done many jobs over the years for the Family, including grand theft auto, scam artist, driver, drug dealer, and finally enforcer. Near the end of those fifteen years, he was mainly used as a bodyguard to Hill Jr., and nothing more. I asked if that bothered him, and he seemed to be indifferent to the question, so I assumed he didn’t mind babysitting the kid.
So, why question Hill Junior’s babysitter about what happened that night? Because Sun-Light was the only Family member to survive the Hill Family Massacre. And the details of what happened that night were still pretty fresh in his mind, even though the event had happened nearly three years prior.
Now, the very first piece of information he gave me about that night, shocked me to the very core of my inner soul. Why? Because, as it turns out, Sun-Light and Hill Jr. were at Louie O’Brien’s UFA event that night. Yes, you read that correctly. The two of them watched as Mr. Alexander had walked into the fighter’s circle, tell the crowd he will offer any one of the fighters a piece of the million dollars he had stashed in a black briefcase if they participated in beating Mr. O‘Brien to death, and watched as the fighters do as the man asked.
“Did you or Mr. Hill try to do anything when you saw what was happening in the fighter’s circle between Mr. Alexander and the crowd?” I asked.
“No. We were both just shocked and horrified too much to do anything rational at the time.”
“What about afterwards, when Mr. O’Brien laid dead and Mr. Alexander was walking over to his dead body, to claim his prize?”
“Again, we were just too shocked and horrified to do anything about it. I mean, the two of us were no strangers to murder and death, but it happening like that? Get the fuck out of here. I’d never seen anything like that happen before. It was truly a barbaric thing to witness.”
“So, what did the two of you do when it was all over?”
“We left. I think Sammy wanted to stay and do something about it. You know, after he snapped back to reality. But I talked him out of it. We needed to get back to his father, and tell him what happened.”
“Did Mr. Alexander spot you?”
“Yeah. The crazy sonofabitch grabbed poor ole O’Brien’s dead body right up off the ground, and as Sammy and I were leaving, we saw him throw the body in the trunk of his car and take off after us.”
“Can I ask you something personal right quick?”
“Depends on how personal were talking about.”
“‘Personal’ may have been the wrong word to describe what I want to ask you.”
“Listen, just ask what you gotta ask, and I’ll decide if I’m going to answer or not.”
“Were you scared? Especially, after seeing what he did to Mr. O’Brien.”
Sun-Light sighed heavily. “Yeah. I was fucking scared out of my mind. There was just something wrong with that guy---something off with him, you know? His ways were just…for lack of a better word: animalistic.”
“Did he follow you all the way back to Mr. Hill’s home?”
“Nah. He pulled off at some point. Don’t ask me when, though. One minute I saw him on our ass in the rear-view mirror, the next he’s outta sight.”
“What happened when you got home---when you got to Mr. Hill?”
“All hell broke loose.”
Between 11:15 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., shots were reported at Mr. Hill’s residence. Many of the people who called the police that night about the many gunshots, told the officers over the phone that it sounded like World War III was happening at the Hill residence. When the first patrol vehicle arrived on scene, at approximately 11:45, the bloodbath had already concluded.
Thirty-five men were killed that night, including Sammy Hill, his father, O’Brien’s father, Ment’s father, and many other lower level Hill Family members. Only three people were reported as survivors: Sun-Light, and two of the staff that were still working.
“I understand why Mr. Alexander didn’t kill the on-staff members that night. They weren’t apart of the Family, so-to-speak, so they weren’t involved in Family affairs. However, why would he keep you alive?” I asked.
“He didn’t ‘allow’ me to live,” Sun-Light responded. “The only reason I am alive right now, is because I didn’t participate in the fight. I hid in the security room, watching the whole damn thing take place on the sixteen security monitors inside the room.”
“Do you feel bad that you did that to your Family?”
“No. Fuck ‘em, I say. They should have fed those stupid fucking kids to the Big Bad Wolf, in my opinion. I mean, it wasn’t like they didn’t know something like that was going to happen. Those three girls they did all that shit to…all of them belonged to rich and powerful families. Families that were as well connected as us, and knew just who to bring in for a job of that magnitude. Our Family, we stood no chance against those rich fuckers and their connections.”
“So, you do believe Mr. Alexander was hired for the job, the
n?”
“Of course. You’d be stupid if you didn’t think so. In fact, I don’t think the lot of them rich fuckers hired that psycho. I think only one did: Senator Greene. I think she’s the one who did it.”
“She says she didn’t, though.”
“And you believe that bitch? Please. She may say what she’s been saying, but we all know the real truth. She hired him, and she ain’t sorry she did. Her daughter finally got her justice, right?”
“Right. Will you retaliate against her?”
“Hell no. I work for another Family, yes. But I’m not stupid enough to try and cross that bitch. Because I know if I fail, he’ll be coming for me. And there’s no telling what that sick fucker would do to me. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about what he said to little Sammy before he shot him between the eyes that night.”
“What did he say to Sammy before he shot him?”
“When he entered Sammy’s room and shot his gun hand, so the kid would drop his weapon, I turned on the monitor’s speaker phone. He told the kid, ‘It’s a shame I have to do this quickly, Sammy. I had plans for you tonight. You would have really suffered, just as you made that little girl suffer.’ Then, BAM! The kid was dead. He then…after that, he looked up at the camera. I swear he was looking right at me, eye-to-eye. And he fucking smiled. But, he never came for me, and the police arrived a couple minutes later.”
“Do you think he’ll ever come for you?”
“I don’t know, man. I try not think about it too much, because it gives me the creeps. But I’ll say this: I look over my shoulder every day when I’m out and about. And every time I do, I get those same goosebumps all over, thinking he’s going to be standing right there behind me one time I do it.”
CONCLUSION
Who is Mr. Alexander? After two years of investigating and searching for the answer to this question, did I truly learn anything of value about this so called “bringer of justice?” Well, yes and no.