Mississippi : Jacqueline Levitz

Written By Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Photo: missing.fandom.com


Vicksburg, Mississippi, is a historic city on the Mississippi River in the western part of the state. The city boasts numerous historic sites, including the Vicksburg National Military Park, which preserves the battlefield and commemorates the Siege of Vicksburg. The park features monuments, memorials, and a museum that provides insight into the Civil War era. Visitors can also explore historic homes, museums, and antebellum architecture throughout the city. Vicksburg's economy is diverse, with sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, tourism, and agriculture playing significant roles. The Port of Vicksburg is an important center for shipping and commerce along the Mississippi River.

Photo: downtownvicksburg.org

Overall, Vicksburg, Mississippi, has a rich historical legacy, scenic beauty, and a vibrant community that attracts visitors worldwide. The crime is less than ideal, rated at a 3 out of 100 on neighborhoodscout.com. The likelihood a person will be the victim of a violent crime in this city is twice the rate of the rest of the state of Mississippi. Property crime is over double the United States average. 

Mary Jacqueline Levitz was born on February 11th, 1933, and went by her middle name more often than not. She was one of nine children growing up on a cotton farm. She moved from Louisiana to Texas to go to a secretarial school. This is where she would meet her first husband and have a son. After their divorce, Jacqueline moved to Washington, D.C., and started working in Real Estate.

She was an ambitious woman and, during her life, had become quite successful in her own right. She was a beauty queen and once upon a time a secretary, but her claim to real success was when she was her real estate work. She was a house flipper and interior designer with approximately four million dollars net worth. After her second husband passed away, she moved to Florida, where it would take 20 years before she fell in love again and married her third and final husband, Ralph Levitz. Ralph was a highly successful owner of a nationwide furniture company. He helped pave the way for warehouse-style furniture stores to become a reality. Jacqueline was beautiful and lively and lived this jet-setting, indulgent lifestyle with her husband in Palm Beach, Florida. Ralph would suffer a stroke after a few months of marriage and even though they could afford the best medical care, Jacqueline wanted to be the one to take care of her husband. That was until Ralph passed away at 82, and Jacqueline inherited his estate, which was reportedly worth 15 million dollars. She was done with the hustle and bustle of the Florida elite and decided to return to her roots. She purchased a house in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and started the process of remodeling the entire thing. 

Photo: Doe Network

The last time anyone saw Jacqueline alive was November 18th, 1995, while she was shopping at a local hardware store, picking out wallpaper for her renovation. This was only about a month after her move back to her hometown. When the family couldn't contact her, her brother-in-law drove to her new house to check on her. He found the front door unlocked and could tell immediately that something awful happened. There was no sign of Jacqueline, but there was a struggle of some sort. He called authorities, and the investigation started. There was not much inside this lavish home that Jacqueline had just purchased. There was a mattress that was covered in blood. It would be tested and confirmed to be Jacqueline's blood type. Remember, this was the 90s, and authorities could not test beyond blood type and if it was human blood or not. Police would also find broken fingernails scattered about; These would be the acrylic fake type, but the fact that they were scattered about made police sure that most likely Jacqueline fought back. Robbery was ruled out because even though the house didnt have much in it, there were things like two fur coats estimated to be valued at 200,000 dollars. I don't know what type of fur coat would be worth that much, but it had to be some expensive designer because, wow, that is a lot of money. There were also reports of jewelry being left out near where this gruesome scene took place. If the coats are 200k, I could only imagine the value of her jewelry. So, the fact that this stuff was left untouched led police to believe that robbery was not the motive in this case. The FBI was called in pretty quickly because authorities assumed they would be getting a ransom call soon, considering the wealth that Jacqueline had acquired over her lifetime. Only no ransom call or letter would ever come, leaving police even more baffled than ever before. Her cream-colored Jaguar was left in the driveway, but what police did discover missing was Jacqueline's purse and makeup bag. Why would these items be taken and nothing else?

I want to go over the timeline here so that on the 18th of November, she is last seen at that store. Neighbors see a car backed into Jacqueline's driveway around 11 pm. The 20th is when her brother-in-law found the scene, and the investigation started. Her home was under construction, so the workers were questioned and released on that same day. On the 21st, the Mississippi River that flowed directly behind Jacqueline's home was searched. On the 24th, a helicopter and ground searches started looking for clues to this disappearance. The family also issued a 10,000-dollar reward for information. The 25th dogs were brought out, and they could trace Jacqueline's scent from the house to the driveway, where police assumed a vehicle was waiting because her scent stopped there. The 27th is when the FBI is called in to assist, and then things are quiet until December 2nd when two people are charged with burglary of Jacqueline’s home. Just so everyone knows, the difference between a robbery and a burglary is that a robbery is a crime against a person, while a burglary is a crime against a building. So robbery is taking something by force or fear, while burglary is breaking into a building to commit theft. Two young men, one 21 years old and the other 17 years old, would be arrested for breaking into Jacqueline’s home a week after she was abducted and stole credit cards and a fax machine. Of course, they were questioned about her disappearance, but based on information police put out, they could not link them to anything more than the burglary. The reward would be up to 50,000 dollars, and lagoons would be dragged, which would be anything to help find Jacqueline. Police feared she was not alive when she was taken, considering the amount of blood found at her house. The sheriff, who had been an officer for almost 30 years at this point, stated to the media that he hoped she was alive, but based on every investigation he had ever done, it was not likely. 

As far as motives or suspects go, many people believe that Jacqueline was all about her late husband's money. There were reports that she fired everyone who worked for Ralph when she gained access to it all. Could one of these people be upset enough to commit this crime? Or what about who else was in line to inherit the millions of dollars she had just received? The construction workers were cleared, but could they have had something to do with it? Jacqueline was new in town, but people were already talking about her and how much she had. Could this have been an attempted robbery gone wrong? Maybe she walked in on the burglary, and a fight ensued. A psychic and friend of Jacqueline would tell police she had a vision and the person responsible for Jacqueline's disappearance and murder was someone in her own family, and her body was dumped in the Mississippi River. This psychic was from the same area Jacqueline lived in, Florida, and she made the trip out to Mississippi and put her hands in the water and said she could feel her friend there. 

Photo: NY Times

Other people law enforcement looked into were a mother-son duo by the name of Kenneth Kimes Jr. and his mother, Sante Kimes. These two would be convicted of the disappearance of an elderly woman in 1998, Irene Silverman. This lady was also wealthy, and her body was never found. The similarities between these two cases are staggering, but these two were never charged with anything concerning Jacqueline Levitz. The theories on this case are a mile long, but none of the rumors have ever brought any evidence of finding Jacqueline’s body or what happened to her. 

If anyone has any information about what happened in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Jacqueline Levitz, don't hesitate to contact Vicksburg Police Department 601-636-2511 or the Federal Bureau of Investigation 601-948-5000. Jacqueline is a Caucasian female. Graying blonde hair, hazel eye she weighed 12We 5 pounds and stood 5 foot 6 inches tall at the time of her disappearance, her ears were pierced and would be 91 years old today however she was declared deceased many years ago when two members of her family took over her estate. 

Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Whitney and Melissa, hosts of Navigating Advocacy, blend their true crime interests with a mission to spark justice through storytelling, inspiring action, and building a community of advocates.

https://www.navigatingadvocacy.com
Previous

Missouri : Charles “Arlin” Henderson
Next

Minnesota : Cassandra Rhines