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Inset: Flynn Brown (Leber Funeral Home). Background: Randall Smith during his trial for killing Brown at Jackson State University (WLBT).
A 23-year-old is standing trial in Mississippi, accused of murdering his college roommate over a dispute about donuts. The accused, Randall Smith, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Flynn Brown, which occurred on the Jackson State University campus in December 2022. Smith allegedly concealed Brown’s body in a box and dragged it down seven flights of stairs.
During the trial on Wednesday, jurors listened to testimony from Amari Ward, another roommate of Smith and Brown. According to WLBT, a local NBC affiliate, Ward recounted hearing loud music emanating from their shared room. Upon entering, Ward was confronted by a grisly scene, noticing a substantial amount of blood on the floor and on a gray tote.
Ward described to the jury, “I first spotted the blood on the floor, and there appeared to be more on a gray tote. I saw the Challenger parked outside and heard dragging noises—then saw him hauling a black box covered with a sheet.” Smith is accused of moving Brown’s body to the dormitory parking lot with the intention of loading it into his Dodge Challenger. The Clarion-Ledger reported that an officer testified Smith allegedly dragged the box approximately 75 yards to the parking lot, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
“The first place I noticed it was on the floor and there was a gray tote, and it looked like there was a pile of blood on the tote as well,” Ward told jurors. “I [saw] the Challenger parked outside, and I heard the dragging noises, and I [saw] him tugging the black box with a sheet over it.”
Smith was allegedly hauling the body to the dorm”s parking lot so he could put the box in his Dodge Challenger. According to the Clarion-Ledger, an officer testified that Smith allegedly pulled the box some 75 yards to the parking lot, leaving behind bloodstains along the way.
When cops searched the room, they smelled a strong odor of bleach and blood on the sink, the officer reportedly testified.
Jurors also heard a recording of Smith admitting to cops that he killed Brown, claiming self-defense. He said he was eating donuts in the room when Brown came and took them. This apparently sparked an argument that turned physical.
Smith reportedly said Brown was choking him, so he went to his bedroom, grabbed a gun and came back out before shooting the victim in the head. The defendant said Brown overpowered him.
“I can’t fight this man,” Smith allegedly told cops.
According to Smith, Brown had been bullying him for a long time and it was the second physical fight they had. But prosecutors argued that Brown posed no deadly threat to Smith.
Brown hailed from New Jersey. After attending a two-year college in Pennsylvania, Brown transferred to Jackson State with hopes of playing football, his obituary said.
“There are many adjectives that define Flynn’s character: faithful, confident, generous, football smart and good friend. He was inclusive of all people, very modest and never cocky. If he was your friend, he totally supported you and was there when you needed him,” the obituary said.
The victim was looking forward to coming back home for Christmas.
“His airline ticket was purchased, and he was counting the days that he would be home,” the obituary reads. “Jealousy, hate, and evil took Flynn prematurely from his family and friends. Justice will prevail!”
The trial continued on Thursday morning.