Strangled With Her Panties — College Student Found Dead | True Crime Documentary
On a night that was supposed to feel completely ordinary, an unsettling silence suddenly settled over an apartment in Atlanta. Surveillance cameras captured Alexis Crawford leaving the building one last time, and after that, she simply vanished. No calls, no messages, her phone went straight to voicemail.
For someone who was constantly in touch with her family, it didn’t make sense. At first, there was concern, then panic. And eventually, the realization that this no longer looked like a typical missing person case. Meanwhile, inside that same apartment were the two people she trusted most, Jordan Jones and Barron Brantley.
And as investigators began piecing things together, their statements, their actions, and their timelines started to contradict one another, revealing a picture that grew more disturbing with every new detail. This is the story of a night that began like any other, but ended in a way that shattered multiple lives and left behind only questions and a trail leading to a shocking truth.
Today, we’re here in Atlanta, Georgia, going back to October of 2019. 21-year-old Alexis Crawford was a senior at Clark Atlanta University, preparing for graduation and everything that came with it. Her family and her faith meant everything to her. She came from a large, close-knit family. She had five brothers and four sisters, and she shared a particularly strong bond with her parents.
Friends described her as confident in her abilities and someone who worked hard for everything she achieved. She was attentive, kind, and full of life. Her strong sense of right and wrong was shaped even more by her upbringing with her father, Bobby, who worked in law enforcement, and as the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Alexis was studying criminal justice and had plans to build a career focused on helping people and making a positive difference. She lived off campus with 21-year-old Jordan Jones. The two were described as inseparable, and Alexis considered her her best friend. Jordyn knew Alexis’s family well and even spent holidays like Thanksgiving and Easter with them.
Given that they had been randomly assigned as roommates, it seemed like both of them had truly gotten lucky. Friends, take a quick moment, drop a comment, and let me know where you’re watching from. I’m genuinely curious where this audience is coming from and what time it is where you are. And if you’re enjoying this format, make sure to subscribe to the channel and hit the like button.
It really helps the channel grow and allows more stories like this to be made. Thank you for watching. On October 30th, at approximately 3:30 in the afternoon, Alexis Crawford’s mother, Tammy, and her sister, Monica, called her on FaceTime. She was in a good mood, they were joking around, and she was very talkative. During the call, Alexis asked Monica to send her some money through Cash App.
Bobby said that was fine, and later that same evening, a little before 9:00 p.m., Monica transferred the money. Alexis’s sister, Alexandria, also texted her to ask about her plans. It was homecoming weekend at Clark Atlanta University, and a lot of events, celebrations, and parties were expected on campus over the next few days.
But Alexis didn’t seem to have anything planned. She simply replied, “Nothing.” At 9:03 p.m., Alexis posted on Instagram, and about 20 minutes later, she responded to a message there as well. After that, no one heard from her again. By the next morning, Alexis still wasn’t responding.
She was in daily contact with someone in her family almost every hour, but now her phone was going straight to voicemail. On November 1st, Alexis didn’t show up for class, and later she failed to report to work. This was completely out of character, and her family became deeply concerned. Alexis never missed commitments, especially not without explanation.
Something was wrong and she was reported missing. Missing Clark Atlanta student Ni’ma Abdullahi joining us now from the Atlanta University Center. Ni’ma, what do we know here? She family and friends of 21 year old Alexis Crawford desperately need your help to find her that they’re concerned for her safety and they’re hoping to find her safely.
We first found out about this yesterday and here’s what we know so far. Atlanta police confirmed a missing person report has been filed for the Clark Atlanta University senior. Her brother says that she was last seen on Wednesday, October 30th. Alexis Crawford is originally from Athens and lives off campus while attending Clark Atlanta University this semester.
We’re told school officials have been notified about her disappearance now. Uh police right now are also aware of what’s going on. The university is aware and now the family is asking for the public’s help to find her. So, if anyone saw her, know anything or saw anything to contact police immediately. Surveillance footage confirmed that Alexis had left the Heritage Station Apartments.
Her roommate Jordan said she had driven her to a liquor store around 11:30 p.m. not far from their home. Jordan also said she saw Alexis again about an hour later before going to sleep. She told police that when she woke up on Thursday, October 31st, Alexis was already gone. She had fallen asleep in the living room, but there were no signs that Alexis had been there that night.
Jordan checked the apartment and noticed that Alexis’s phone, ID, and debit card were also missing. When she got ready to leave for class, she discovered that the door was locked. It’s possible she left to join a party or meet up with other friends late that night, but the only surveillance footage ever confirmed was from the liquor store.
None of her other friends reported seeing her that evening. In the last hour, Atlanta police have released new images of a missing Clark Atlanta student. These photos taken inside of a liquor store just hours before Alexis Crawford disappeared. Police think she may have been wearing the same outfit. number findlex quickly began gaining traction across social media and volunteers organized search efforts focusing on an overgrown area across from her apartment.
Alexis had never been considered someone who would simply disappear. There was no activity on her phone or bank accounts and given everything people knew about her sense of responsibility, especially when it came to her family, hope quickly began to give way to fear of the worst-case scenario. Still, police stated they couldn’t rule anything out.
At that point, it remained possible that she had left on her own for an unknown reason. No one has heard from Alexis Crawford for nearly a week. Alexis Crawford’s parents were here along with her siblings, her cousins, other family members and friends praying for her safe return. They were holding hands in prayer and they were also joined by the Clark Atlanta University president who says that the campus community is completely devastated after Crawford’s disappearance.
Earlier today with the Clark Atlanta Police Department’s Chief of Police, Chief Debra Williams, and she assured this family that the Clark Atlanta Police Department would do everything it could to to to bring this young lady home to her family. And we just finished a meeting with the senior leadership here in the Atlanta Police Department who also assured this family that as the lead investigative agency, they would do all that they could.
And the family and I have great confidence in the men and women that are looking for for Ms. Crawford. And we we have every reason to believe that Atlanta Police will get to the bottom of what happened to her. But today I stand with this family asking for several things of the people of Atlanta.
First, I would ask the people of Atlanta to pray for the family and for Ms. Crawford. Secondly, and more importantly, there are people in this community, students in the AU Center and other places, that may have information that can be helpful uh in finding out just where Ms. Crawford is. And I would ask the people of Atlanta to come forward with any information that you might have to help uh the Atlanta Police Department to do uh their very best in finding Ms.
Crawford and bringing her home. First person that I want to ask to speak is Mr. Bobby Wright, who is Ms. Crawford’s father, who drove up from Athens and has made the determination he’s not leaving this city until his baby is found. Baby, I I love you, baby. Just just come home. Come home, baby. Yeah, come home.
I love you. Just come home. I’m not going to leave until you get home. And I hope that God’s walking with you. And and please prevent any evil that comes your way. And we’re here for you. I love you, Alexis. I miss you. As you can see, the emotions are running very deep. Um this is a praying, believing, um family, and they do believe in a whole holding faith that Alexis will come home.
Police began calling local hospitals and medical facilities to check whether she had been admitted under a false name, possibly as a Jane Doe. Then, suddenly, they received information that shifted the search back to where Alexis had last been seen, her apartment. A spokesperson for the family, Reverend Mark Al Hutchen, said, “We know that she is going through a difficult time.
She has recently encountered things that no woman should have to experience. So, we are asking the people of Atlanta to pray for Alexis and her family. At the time, it wasn’t specified what that referred to. Later, however, it was revealed that on October 27th, just 3 days before her disappearance, she had gone to a hospital and filed a police report stating that she believed she had been a victim of sexual assault by Jordan’s boyfriend, 21-year-old Barron Brantley.
On October 27th, the three of them had been drinking together in the apartment the girls shared, and Barron allegedly attempted to kiss and touch Alexis, but she refused. He claimed he had mistaken her for Jordan. Alexis, visibly frightened, went to her bedroom, and he followed her. She then went into the bathroom on her own and locked the door.
She said she didn’t remember anything after that and lost consciousness. When she came to, she found that her underwear had been torn, and Barron was partially undressed. Jordan even knocked on the door, and when Barron opened it, she described him as half-dressed. The first thing he reportedly said to her was, “I didn’t rape Alexis.
” Around 6:00 in the morning, Barron had already left in Jordan’s car just before police arrived at the apartment. In fact, Jordan had called 911, but not to report an assault. She reported that he had taken her vehicle. Not a single word was mentioned about a possible sexual assault, and she also referred to him as her ex-boyfriend, which directly conflicted with everything else known about their relationship at the time.
I was at the emergency. You need police, fire, EMS? Yes, because my ex-boyfriend just stole my car. He took my keys and Okay. What’s your name? Jordan Jones. All right, Ms. Jones. J o r d y n. We’ll get an officer out there with you. After that, Alexis went to Grady Hospital to undergo a rape kit exam, which did point toward Baron.
Traces of his semen were found inside her. While all of this was unfolding, Jordan, fully aware of the situation, secretly let Baron back into her room, where he stayed for the next several days. Meanwhile, Alexis told friends she no longer felt comfortable sleeping in her bedroom, so she moved out into the living room.
She was scared and didn’t feel safe, and everything now depended on the police investigation. Staying in the living room and avoiding her bedroom, she had no idea he was still inside the apartment. Officers quickly returned to the apartment to speak with both of them. Jordan confirmed that she had made the report, and as a result, she and Alexis were no longer speaking.
The more investigators talked, the more they realized there was far more to this story. And the more questions they asked, the worse the situation appeared. Eventually, Jordan, with help from her father, who worked in law enforcement in another state about 11 miles from the apartment, became part of the developing investigation.
Welcome back. We are continuing to cover this breaking news just into CBS 46. We can confirm the missing Clark Atlanta student has been found dead in DeKalb County. Our sources are telling us that her body was found at Exchange Park in Decatur. That is near I-285 and Columbia Drive.
Today, Alexis’s body was found in a park. Our investigators are working on securing arrest warrants for two individuals. The case has come to one of the saddest conclusions possible and has been absolutely heartbreaking. 11:58 to 12:33. On November 8th, 1 week after Alexis was reported missing, her body was discovered in a park in DeKalb County, about 11 miles from her apartment. She had been strangled.
And her body had been placed inside a container. Shortly after police announced that two individuals have been charged with intentional murder, Jordan Jones and Barron Bradley. The student body president, Levon Campbell, said the impact on campus was profound first because of the loss of Alexis, and second because it was carried out by two other well-known and well-liked students.
The atmosphere was heavy. Many students struggled to process what had happened and searched for answers that simply didn’t exist. The university president released an open letter expressing the institution’s grief and announced that crisis counselors would be available on campus to support anyone affected. Alexis’s father said, “If they wanted to take someone’s life, they could have taken mine.
They didn’t need to kill my child.” Unexpectedly, Barron and Jordan began communicating with each other. And before 3:00 in the morning now, October 31st, they started admitting what had happened to Alexis. Jordan and Barron claimed that an argument broke out between the two women, which quickly escalated into a physical altercation. When Barron heard the commotion, he left Jordan’s room and became involved as well.
The situation escalated rapidly, and Barron admitted that he strangled Alexis while Jordan simultaneously took a plastic bag, placed it over her head, and suffocated her. Barron told investigators that she struggled to breathe and made sounds consistent with distress. Surveillance footage from the apartment parking garage showed Jordan and Barron arriving in Jordan’s car at the building entrance at around 3:00 in the morning.
Police believe that was when Alexis’s body was loaded into the vehicle. They placed Alexis inside a plastic container in the apartment, cleaned up blood in the living room, and then transported her body to Exchange Park in DeKalb County, Georgia, where they left it in a wooded area. Afterward, they both returned to the apartment and went to sleep.
Later that same day, Jordan texted another friend asking to replace the container. She and Barron then got ready and went out to a Halloween party. Investigators concluded that Jordan and Barron were equal and knowing participants in the crime. Jordan turned off Alexis’s phone, but continued sending messages from it pretending to be concerned.
She also posted on Instagram about Alexis’s disappearance asking for help in finding her. In that post, she wrote, “This is obviously a really difficult time for me, and I just feel helpless. I’m in a lot of pain right now.” There was no sign of remorse in her actions and no indication that she showed any concern for what had happened to Alexis.
Both of them behaved as if nothing had happened. Police used Luminol and discovered blood in at least six different spots in the living room, despite the apartment having been cleaned. However, it remains unclear whose blood it was and how it got there. The motive has never been clearly established, and the details of the argument remain unknown.
However, considering that Alexis had filed a report on October 27th, just 3 days before her disappearance, that may have been one of the factors that led to the confrontation. At the same time, police have stated that it has not been determined whether that report was a direct motive for the murder or whether the killing resulted from a dispute that escalated.
That question still remains unanswered. On November 16th, Alexis’s funeral was held and also streamed online. The service was attended by many in person and even more watched from a distance. Four accused in the murder of a Clark Atlanta University student pleaded not guilty late this afternoon. The individuals charged in the murder of the Clark Atlanta University student later pleaded not guilty.
Both Jordan Jones and Barron Bradley entered not guilty pleas to six charges including felony murder, kidnapping, and concealing the death of another person. Barron was also charged with violating probation and interfering with an emergency telephone call. No charges of rape or sexual assault were filed and prosecutors stated they would not seek the death penalty for either of them.
Barron was already well known to law enforcement and had a long history of prior arrests including theft, battery, traffic violations, fleeing from police, domestic violence, and third-degree cruelty to children. Over the course of 2 years, he had been arrested five times and held in the same detention facility.
No bond for a young woman accused of killing her friend who was also her roommate. During today’s virtual hearing, Crawford’s mother and father pleaded with the judge to not issue a bond for Jones with the mother’s tearful plea saying her daughter’s killing was senseless. Jones was previously denied bond, but today her attorneys asked the judge to reconsider arguing she has helped with the investigation, has no previous criminal history other than a misdemeanor.
They also pointed out that she has ties to the community and doesn’t have a history of threatening or intimidating anyone. But prosecutors alleged they found direct messages from Jones on social media encouraging Brantley to destroy surveillance video evidence from the apartment complex where Jones and Crawford lived. And they argued she was on probation for a DUI when Crawford was killed.
Crawford’s mother and father also addressed the judge during Jones’ bond hearing today. She had no reason to kill her at all. Oh my god. BUT SHE JORDAN TOOK THEIR LIFE. Jordan took Jordan took her life. However, the court denied bond for both defendants stating that Jordan posed a significant flight risk. That decision came after it was revealed that just hours after Alexis’s death, she withdrew from school and planned to move back in with her parents in Michigan.
She also attempted to contact witnesses in the case and according to investigators, tried to interfere with the evidence by telling members of Alexis’s family that the rape kit results showed no DNA when in fact, they confirmed the presence of DNA linked to Barron. Her attorney did not directly address those allegations, but noted that Jordan had supported Alexis after she reported the assault.
At the same time, given that she allowed Barron back into the apartment, that claim appeared to stand in clear contradiction. Barron and Jordan began pointing the finger at each other and tried to distance themselves from what had happened. Their attorneys filed motions to sever the cases so each could stand trial separately.
Additional delays caused by the lockdown added another layer of strain for both the family and the prosecution. New developments in the murder case of Clark Atlanta University student Alexis Crawford more than 3 years ago. During a hearing Friday, we learned her accused killer’s confession cannot be used in court.
It was determined that Barron’s confession would not be admissible as evidence because at the time of questioning, he was likely under the influence of drugs. That left investigators in a difficult position as they had to demonstrate that they had not taken advantage of his condition to obtain a statement.
At the same time, they maintained that his confession was given voluntarily and aligned with the version of events provided by Jordan. Further complications arose when the court indicated it was considering allowing Barron to file for bond, a decision that came as a shock to many. The relentless pain we feel from the cold-blooded murder of Alexis at the hands of Barron Brantley and Jordan Jones, whom we often welcomed into our home, is constant and nearly unbearable, Tammy said.
I am deeply concerned about the possibility of Barron being released on bond. Reverend Hutchens echoed those sentiments adding, “When you really think about it, two 21-year-olds took the life of this young woman for no reason at all, completely senseless. It’s not just hard to understand, it’s beyond words, and in essence, it represents pure evil.
As of March 2023, no trial dates had been set for either defendant, and with ongoing delays related to evidence and bond issues, it remains unclear how long the case will continue to move through the courts. The extended wait while the legal process slowly unfolds is something Alexis’s family has no control over, leaving them in a deeply powerless position.
At just 21 years old, Alexis was only beginning her life. In her final days, she experienced betrayal on multiple levels, and the fact that her life was taken so violently and without remorse adds another layer of pain to an already devastating case. Her sister Alexandria said that Alexis will always remain her role model, her strength, and her inspiration.
Her father urged, Hold on to your kids. Love them. Talk to them. Appreciate them and listen to them. Don’t stop listening to your kids. Tammy added that while nothing could ever bring her daughter back, keeping the accused murderers held without bond would give her and her family a measure of peace and a sense of safety as they continue waiting for justice.
And that’s where this story comes to an end. But cases like this are a stark reminder that reality can sometimes be more unsettling than any film or work of fiction. Behind every story like this are real people, real events, and questions that, in some cases, may never be answered. If If this video interesting, support the channel, leave a like, share your thoughts in the comments, and make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future videos.
There are many more mysterious, chilling, and at the same time deeply compelling stories ahead.
