COLUMBIA, S.C. — The family of Columbia native 22-year-old Xavier Jackson is still seeking answers after he was found dead on the 3400 block of Bluff Road on Tuesday.
“I can’t even describe what I am feeling in that situation, and I can’t say what I want to say, but I'm just angry," Jackson's aunt, Lajuanda Ravenell, said. "I don’t know how I would react if I'd see them, but I know I want to be able to look this person in their face and ask them: 'Why?'”
Ravenell said she remembers having a bad feeling in her gut after not hearing from Jackson on Monday night when she got off work. She received devasting news the next day.
“After we all kept calling and got no response we all had a feeling it was him, I just felt it. He always responds to our calls."
She said that she was in constant communication with Jackson's girlfriend, who called and told the family she saw his body on the road and didn't even know she passed it.
His loved ones, including his nephew, Kalyrick White, who called him "Buba," are holding on to dear memories of him as a family man.
“My favorite-most memory of him is doing fireworks with him and going to church with him,” he said. "He also knew I liked bugs and would always help me find them in the backyard; he even caught a praying mantis for me, that was fun."
They described him as a jokester who always kept his family smiling.
“His style of clothing is so unique; I've never nobody that put on jeans and always cut and slit it at the bottom – even the kids jeans for school,” said Ravenell.
They also remembered him as an ambitious, goal-driven entertainer who looked forward to keeping his promises to care for his family.
“It's crazy because the last time I saw him, he said ... we're all going to be on T.V. together, but I didn’t think it was going to be in this way right here," Jackson's cousin, Koneisha White, said. "I miss him."
To his family and friends, Jackson's light shines brightly and will always be remembered.
Columbia Police have not yet said what they think led up to his death, and the case is still under investigation.
The family said anyone wanting to support can donate online on their fundraising page.
