Woman charged with obstruction after police say she used Comet to remove DNA from body
A Cahokia woman has been charged with obstructing justice after prosecutors say she tried to remove evidence from the body of a murdered man last year.
Jasmine R. Madison, 27, was charged in St. Clair County Court on Nov. 27. She was booked into St. Clair County Jail on Tuesday morning. Online records did not have a lawyer listed for Madison on Tuesday evening.
According to the charging documents, Madison attempted to remove DNA evidence from the body of 47-year-old Jermaine Ross, a well-known barber who was killed in his home in late September 2018, by pouring Comet cleaning powder on his groin.
On Oct. 3, Ross was found dead in his home at 208 Elm St. in Cahokia by a friend, who was bringing someone over to have their hair cut, Cahokia Police Chief Dennis Plew told the Belleville News-Democrat at the time. Plew was a police captain at the time of the murder.
Ross had been dead for a few days before he was found, Plew said. According to the charging documents against Madison, cleaning powder was used on Ross sometime between Sept. 29 and 30 of 2018.
Plew said police initially believed Ross may have died of natural causes, but further investigation led officers to become suspicious. During the autopsy, a bullet was recovered from Ross’ body and the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis was activated to investigate.
A day later, Melinda Graves, 31, also of Cahokia, was taken into custody in connection with the murder. Plew said robbery was likely the motive for the murder. Another unidentified woman was taken into custody at the time but was released without charges.
Graves was convicted of first-degree murder and, on Nov. 26, was sentenced to serve 25 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for Ross’ death.
Madison remained in police custody Tuesday evening with a bond amount of $25,550. Cahokia police said Tuesday that the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office had originally taken Madison’s case under advisement and only charged her on Nov. 27.
The Belleville News-Democrat has reached out to the State’s Attorney’s office for comment.
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