33 year old Melinda Davis was reported missing on February 25, 2021 from Shelby, Ohio. Shelby is quite a small town with around 9k population.
You can see Melinda’s Facebook here:
Melinda was a mother of at least five children, she had at least one adult aged child and younger ones that were 10, 13, 15 and 17.
Her family said at the time that she was last seen near the Shelby High School, in her black VW Jetta. It is believed that she was going to meet her ex boyfriend John Henry Mack – the couple had dated previously for three years and broke up last August. Melinda was said to be headed to pick up some items that she had left at his home before they broke up.
Her daughter Tamia said the following:
So you can see where this story is going. A woman’s last known destination was the home of her ex -partner. It seems that he was known to be abusive towards Melinda.
This case seemed to move fairly quickly. On February 26 – one day after she was last seen, police checked a home in Mansfield, Ohio and did not find either Melinda or John there. But whatever they found in the home led them to issue an arrest warrant for John Mack for kidnapping.
Melinda’s daughter Tamia revealed at the time that John asked a family member to leave his home on the day Melinda disappeared:
The Mansfield Police started a large scale search for Melinda. They enlisted the help of the Ohio Special Response Team and the Richland County Emergency Response Team.
Melinda’s niece also posted on social media about the plans they made before the disappearance:
The US Marshals offered a $5k reward for information leading to John Mack’s arrest.
In an article by News5Cleveland, Melinda’s friend Paula Littlefield gave some more info about Melinda’s state of mind at the time:
“She said I’m almost to Johnny’s house, if you don’t hear from me in a few hours something may have gone wrong. I said oh my gosh, you’ve got me freaked out,” Littlefield said.
The two set up a plan for Melinda to call Paula when she was done at the house, but that call never came.
That’s when Paula drove to John Mack’s house.
“When I pulled onto the road, I saw a sheriff’s car and Melinda’s niece and I knew, I knew something was wrong,” she said.
The search for Melinda went on for days. Her family appealed for John Mack to hand himself in.
John’s niece Whitney made the following plea:
“John, turn yourself in. It has affected both families because we need answers and we care for both of you.”
On Thursday March 5, around 8 days after Melinda was last seen, there was a break in the case. John Mack was arrested without incident in Mansfield, Ohio after police received a tip from the public.
He was arraigned on Friday March 6 on a charge of kidnapping in relation to Melinda’s case. We also learned that there was blood found in his residence (this is what led to him being charged with kidnapping) and it was believed to belong to Melinda.
A $1 million cash and personal recognizance bond was set by Magistrate John McCollister of Mansfield Municipal Court.
Also arrested at this time were John’s son, Jaybyn Mack, 18, of Cloverdale Drive, and Jabyn’s wife, Alexandria Mack, 18, of Bellville. Both were arraigned Friday morning on a charge of obstructing official business, a felony of the third degree. Their cash and personal recognizance bonds were each set at $5,000.
This info about their arrests comes from the Mansfield News Journal –
Alexandria Mack and Jaybyn Mack admitted to authorities that they knew Mack Jr. was wanted when they made contact with him on Tuesday at 87 S. Adams St. and set up a meeting to pick him up Thursday in Columbus, according to court records.
Mack Jr. arraignment on Friday morning was held via FaceTime from the Richland County Jail with the magistrate using his laptop, while Alexandria Mack and Jaybyn Mack were arraigned via video conferencing from the jail.
McCollister imposed a no-contact order on Mack Jr. for the victim, the victim’s family, and both Alexandria Mack and Jaybyn Mack. The magistrate also ordered electronic monitoring for all three Macks. Both Alexandria Mack and Jaybyn Mack posted bond after 1 p.m. Friday and are out of jail, according to the sheriff’s office. Mack Jr. remains in jail.
Tamia made a post about the arrests:
On Sunday March 14, 18 days after she went missing, police made a terrible discovery near Galloway, Ohio. They found Melinda’s VW Jetta, and with it, her body in the trunk.
Her sister Lisa Davis spoke to the media at the time:
“I never wanted to know something and not know something at the same time. It was a hard day and it’s a hard day today,” Lisa Davis said.
Police recovered the vehicle following a tip from the public. Tiffany Kyser, who lives in the Lehnert Green apartments where the Jetta was found on the far west side of Columbus, less than two miles from Galloway, said she had noticed the car because it didn’t belong to anyone in the area that she knew. She said a video she took in the parking lot on Feb. 27 shows the Jetta in the background.
So it seems like John dumped Melinda where she was found almost straight after her disappearance.
Lisa also told the media at the time that she was caring for Melinda’s young kids and was seeking to obtain custody of them. She also told us more about her sister:
“She was very popular everywhere she went. She was outgoing but not overwhelming. She was the life of the party,” she said. “It was her personality. Melinda just clicked with people,” Lisa Davis said. “She didn’t care if people saw her flaws. She showed people them and she had a lot of love for her children and love for herself.”
Richland County Prosecutor Gary Bishop held a news conference after Melinda was found. A question was asked about the evidence behind the kidnapping charge and his response was ‘primarily blood’.
He also announced that an autopsy would be undertaken for Melinda and any additional charges would be laid at a later date.
John Mack was also charged with receiving stolen property following the search of his home in late February.
Authorities found $7,660.99 worth of merchandise in boxes, including a Sentinel safe, numerous computer monitors, a desktop computer, an iPad, three sewage pumps, a generator, four boxes of new clothing, wall shelves, a box of Bluetooth speakers, a microwave, seven pairs of muck boots, a hatchet, bolt cutters, four carpet runners, a box of car parts, and a robotic vacuum, according to a Richland County Sheriff’s Office report.
John had many previous run-ins with LE and had been in the Ohio prison system four times before. You can read more about his loser past here.
Preliminary hearings for all three Macks had been scheduled for 1 p.m. March 25 in Mansfield Municipal Court Judge Jerry Ault’s courtroom, but Mack Jr.’s preliminary hearing has been waived.
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