Student found dead in Indianapolis

Noah Alatza, Staff Writer

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police confirmed Saturday morning that senior sociology and political science major Meredith Opel and her sister Mallory Jackson were found dead in a southeast side Indianapolis home.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), the incident is being ruled as a murder-suicide after Darrel Jackson, the husband of Mallory Jackson, killed the sisters and fled nearly 400 miles to Jonesboro, Arkansas, where he was found dead, according to Jonesboro Police.

Authorities were called to the incident in the 4500 block of Stone Mill Drive late Friday night and upon arrival found the 27-year-old Jackson and 20-year-old Opel dead from an unknown trauma.

The Marion County Coroner’s Office will release the cause of death and additional information when autopsies have been completed.

Opel was a 2015 and 2016 Top Merit Scholar and a Presidential scholar according to university records.

Both Opel and Jackson are graduates of Roncalli High School in Indianapolis.

“Meredith was determined to make a difference in the world,” her obituary states. “She was a free spirit, joyful, adventurous, loyal, goal oriented and inspiring. Meredith recently studied abroad and loved traveling to thirteen different countries in Europe, taking in as much as she possibly could. As a student at USI, she became active with campus outreach and greatly enjoyed being a part of the Orlando Project. Meredith will be fondly remembered by her loving family and many friends.”

The investigation is ongoing and includes deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s office, Indiana State Police and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police spokesman Sgt. Christopher Wilburn said that authorities are not searching for anyone else other than the man found out of state and they believe the deaths were isolated and “not random in nature.”

“The University of Southern Indiana is saddened to learn of the loss of senior sociology major Meredith Opel in Indianapolis,” University Spokesman Ben Luttrull said in a statement to The Shield.

A funeral service will be held for Opel and Jackson at 10 a.m. Dec. 2 in the Roncalli High School gym followed by a burial at 10 a.m. in Calvary Cemetery.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.