JACKSON, MS – A courtroom in Mississippi heard testimony this week detailing the moments after a college student was fatally shot in his dorm room at Jackson State University, in a case prosecutors say began with an argument over donuts and ended with a body dragged down multiple flights of stairs.
Randall Smith, 23, is on trial for first-degree murder in the December 2022 death of his roommate, 22-year-old Flynn Brown. Jurors on Wednesday listened as a third roommate described entering their shared living space and encountering what he said was a scene of blood and movement that raised immediate alarm.
Witness testimony details scene inside dorm
Amari Ward, who lived with both men, testified that loud music drew him into the room where he said he saw blood and a container nearby. “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.
Ward said he then noticed activity outside the dorm, including what he described as dragging sounds. “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,” Ward testified, according to courtroom reporting by WLBT.
Prosecutors allege Smith placed Brown’s body inside a box and dragged it approximately 75 yards from the dorm to a parking lot, where his Dodge Challenger was parked. An officer testified that bloodstains were left along the path. Inside the room, investigators reported a strong odor of bleach and the presence of blood on a sink.
Defendant claims self-defense in recorded statement
Jurors also heard a recording in which Smith admitted to shooting Brown but claimed he acted in self-defense. According to testimony, Smith said the confrontation began when Brown took donuts he was eating, escalating into a physical altercation.
Smith told investigators that Brown was choking him, prompting him to retrieve a firearm from his bedroom and return to shoot Brown in the head. “I can’t fight this man,” Smith allegedly said in the recorded statement.
Smith also claimed Brown had bullied him over time and that the incident marked a second physical fight between them. Prosecutors, however, argue that Brown did not pose a deadly threat at the time of the shooting.
Brown, originally from New Jersey, had transferred to Jackson State University after attending a two-year college in Pennsylvania. According to his obituary, he planned to play football and was preparing to return home for the holidays.
“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 reads.
“His airline ticket was purchased, and he was counting the days that he would be home,” the obituary states. “Jealousy, hate, and evil took Flynn prematurely from his family and friends. Justice will prevail!”
The trial resumed Thursday morning as attorneys continued presenting evidence and testimony.
Randall Smith trial, Jackson State University murder, Flynn Brown case, Mississippi dorm killing, self defense shooting claim
