PHOENIX, AZ – Dominique Jackson, 40, has been arrested and charged with suspicion of murder following a 17-day investigation into the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Desiree Serpas. The shooting occurred on July 5 at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel, and Jackson was arrested on July 22, according to Phoenix Police.
Court records indicate that Jackson and Serpas had been in a relationship since 2013, and that they had two children together. Hotel security recalled a disturbing encounter with Jackson on the day of the murder, when he reported “demons in the room” and identified Serpas as one such demon before leaving the hotel.
Upon subsequent inspection of the room, hotel security found Serpas’ lifeless body on the floor with a gunshot wound on her back. An unnamed woman was also present in the room, who originally misidentified the body as Jackson’s.
Records suggest that Jackson, Serpas, and the unnamed woman had attended a nearby bar together before returning to the hotel room. Phoenix Police officers were called to the hotel early on July 5 for reports of a naked man wandering the property and a woman who had been shot. Jackson was later detained by officers while they investigated the hotel room and discovered the body of Serpas.
According to court records, multiple bottles of liquor, shot glasses, and a gun, which had been purchased by Jackson, were found in the hotel room. Jackson’s DNA was found on the firearm, and gunshot residue was found on his clothing. The cause of Serpas’ death was confirmed as a gunshot wound to the back by an autopsy.
Following his arrest, Jackson requested an attorney during the police interview. He has since been booked into a Maricopa County jail for one count of murder.