A Cedar Rapids man has been arrested on murder charges in the death of 15-year-old Tyliyah L. Whitis, according to a Friday news release from the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Whitis was found dead in the driver’s seat of a crashed car at Hawthorne Hills Apartment Complex on July 20, 2021. She had a gunshot wound in her chest.
The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner determined Whitis died of the gunshot wound and ruled her death a homicide, the release states.
Marshawn Rome Jackson, 19, was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder, as well as intimidation with a weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm. His arrest comes as a result of the investigation into Whitis’ death.
Jackson was already in custody at the Linn County Jail on unrelated charges — operating a vehicle without owner’s consent, assault on persons in certain occupations, and revocation of a previous parole.
Whitis, of Peoria, Ill., was staying with her sister, T’yanna Nesby, in Cedar Rapids in July. Nesby found out about Whitis’ death when she reported her car missing that morning. Whitis was found in her sister’s car.
Whitis attended Harrison Elementary School in Cedar Rapids from second to fifth grades — from December 2013 to June 2017 — and started sixth grade at Roosevelt Middle School in 2017, but then moved to Peoria to live with her mom.
According to Nesby, Whitis was a straight-A student who played basketball on her school team, worked two jobs and wanted to be a business owner.
Cedar Rapids man faces murder charge in teen’s slaying
A Cedar Rapids man has been arrested and accused in the July 2021 shooting death of 15-year-old Tyliyah L. Whitis in Cedar Rapids.
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