Eccentric Heiress Kept Millions in Cash at Home Because She Distrusted Banks. Then She Was Found Slain

Mar. 15, 2025

Nearly 50 years ago, the murder of an eccentric heiress in Indianapolis made headlines across the nation.

Marjorie Jackson, 66, a multi-millionaire heiress to a local Indiana grocery chain, was shot and killed at her home in early May 1977 during a robbery gone wrong. But what confounded investigators was that, despite being robbed twice previously, Jackson continued to hide millions of dollars in cash around her house before her death — and refused to report the crimes.

Who Was Marjorie Jackson?

Jackson was an heiress of Standard Grocery, one of Indiana’s most notable grocery stores in the 20th century, through her marriage to Chester Jackson, whose father founded the company. According toThe Indianapolis Star, after Chester died in 1970, Jackson inherited roughly $14 million and became intensely reclusive. “The shock of losing him really cracked her,” a neighbor toldTime Magazineyears later, noting that she became paranoid and extremely religious. TheStarreported that investigators later found cakes with messages to God on them, whileTimereported that her door knobs were covered in tinfoil in an attempt to protect her from what she believed were demons.

About six years after Jackson deposited her inheritance in the bank, theStarreported that a bank employee siphoned her account and embezzled about $700,000. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according toTime, but the incident left a lasting, bitter impression about banks in Jackson’s mind.

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As a result, the widow began withdrawing her millions and stashing her money in various places across her home – something her husband liked to do when he was still living, theStarreported. But word quickly got out in the neighborhood, and within months, a pair of local teens hatched a plot to break in and take all they could get.

The First Robbery

Timedescribed Jackson as “a vulnerable target,” given the rumors about the cash in her house and the fact she was known to always be home alone. Two local 19-year-olds, Walter Bergin Jr. and Douglas Howard Green, soon decided to break into her home. According to theStar, the teenagers initially broke in on May 16, 1976, to steal jewelry, but then stumbled upon hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the end, they left with $817,000 in cash and hoards of jewelry, which they later discarded out the window of their car as they drove away from the scene of the crime, according to the newspaper.

The teenagers openly talked about their crimes, and their robbery reportedly became such a well-known rumor that police came to Jackson to ask if she’d like to press charges. However, according to theStar, Jackson responded angrily to the visit: She pointed a toy gun at the officers and told them to get off her property.

Two More Robberies — the Second One Fatal

The initial robbery, and Jackson’s refusal to discuss it with police left Jackson’s cash-splashed home even more vulnerable, according to several accounts. And in early May 1977, a pair of burglars with more nefarious intentions twice broke into Jackson’s home. On May 1, 1977, theStarreported that burglars Howard Willard and Manuel Robinson broke in and stole about $1 million from Jackson’s home. The crime again went unreported.

source: people.com