‘It’s been so hard.’ Family, witness mourn Texas man beaten to death while delivering wood

To Kacey DeLeon, her father, 51-year-old Scotty Jackson, was a hard-working man who loved his grandchildren more than anything.

He enjoyed being a father and he was the kind of person who could get a laugh out of anybody.

Now, DeLeon and her family are learning to cope with the loss of Jackson.

He was beaten to death Saturday night, Jan. 13, while delivering firewood to a homeowner in the 3900 block of Wendover Drive in Fort Worth.

Chrisantus Omondi, 27, was arrested and faces a murder charge in Jackson’s death. He was naked when he randomly attacked Jackson and a witness — the homeowner — when they were unloading firewood from a U-Haul, police said in an arrest warrant affidavit. Omondi was holding a key when he approached the two and said, “This is my house, I have the key right here,” according to the warrant.

Both Jackson and the homeowner told Omondi to leave, and that’s when the suspect picked up a piece of wood and immediately struck Jackson in the head, the witness told police.

Jackson chopped and delivered wood “on the side to make extra money, and with Texas getting cold weather he was making sure everyone was stocked up with firewood,” DeLeon wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses. Jackson was making some last-minute deliveries before a winter storm that brought snow and ice to North Texas hit on Sunday, Jan. 14.

DeLeon told the Star-Telegram she was trying to convince Jackson to get out of the cold and to come home early when he called her Saturday evening, letting her know he would be on his way back.

“He usually never delivered firewood so late. And so I was like, ‘Dad, just go home’,” DeLeon said.

She was planning on picking him up at a U-Haul rental center around 10 p.m. after he was done making deliveries.

On Sunday, having not heard from her father for several hours, DeLeon went to the police department to file a missing person report.

After seeing an article on Sunday night reporting the assault, DeLeon contacted the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, and they confirmed the victim was Jackson.

“I immediately lost it,” DeLeon said. “It’s all a blur for me.”

DeLeon learned more about the details of the deadly assault when she drove to Wendover Street and was able to speak to the witness who was also attacked by Omondi.

“It’s been so hard. You know, figuring out all his belongings, and he lived with me, so I saw him every day. I worked with him, you know, I did everything with him, so him not being here…,” DeLeon said in tears. “I’m just so used to seeing him every day and I expect him to call me a million times.”

DeLeon reminisces on her favorite memories of her father.

“I swear he loved his grandkids probably more than he loved his kids,” said DeLeon, who has a 2-year-old daughter. “He was so funny. He was crazy, but not in a weird way, just like in a goofy way.”

Aside from being a devoted and humorous father, Jackson was considerate of others.

“He would give anybody his last dollar,” DeLeon said. “He would go without, so everybody could have whatever. If they needed anything, he was sure to get it.”

For DeLeon, it’s hard to say what her favorite memory of her father is, but seeing him as a grandfather is one of the things she cherished the most about Jackson.

“Just seeing him be a papa and spoil his grandkids and be there for anything and everything that they needed,” she said.

For the homeowner who was helping Jackson unload the truck, the experience was also traumatizing and the events leading to the assault quickly unfolded.

“I just thought he was a person that was in trouble,” said the witness, who spoke anonymously to the Star-Telegram. “After he pushed me back and then struck Scott, that’s when I knew that this was not that.”

Omondi hit the witness on his arm with firewood, according to the warrant. The witness was then able to block the firewood with his arm after Omondi swung at him a second time. Fearing for his life, he ran and locked himself inside his home in an attempt to get away from the suspect.

The witness called 911 and watched in terror as Omondi continued to hit Jackson and dump a wheelbarrow on him, the warrant says.

Omondi then walked over to a nearby Airbnb, where police said he was staying, before he was found and arrested by officers, who tased him, according to the warrant. A woman staying in another guest room at the Airbnb told police Omondi threatened her and appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance, according to the warrant.

Jackson was also known as a businessman to the witness, who he had previously delivered firewood to.

“We liked him so much, we wanted to show loyalty and give him our business again and that’s the only way I’ve ever known him,” the witness said.

Just a few days after the assault, the witness says he is still struggling with the experience.

“It’s still very hard,” he said. “I lose a lot of sleep over it. I play all these scenarios out of my mind, wake up with my heart beating out of my chest.”

His co-workers and loved ones bring him the support he needs.

“My bosses are extremely helpful and supportive. So that’s helpful as well. And I have a good support group with my family and friends,” the witness said. “They’re helping the best that they could. It’s just a lot of things, it’s just how my mind is playing things out.”

The assault was shocking to the witness as he had never seen that kind of incident happen in his neighborhood before.

“I love the neighborhood. I love my neighbors. We’re all very friendly to each other,” the witness said.

Both the witness and his family offer their support to DeLeon and her family, as they cope with Jackson’s death.

“I’m here to support her and her family,” he said. “We’re just here to help them as as much as we can.”

Omondi remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Saturday with bond set at $312,000.

Omondi previously was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and obstruction of justice after he was accused of pointing at gun at security officers in Fort Worth in May 2023, according to Tarrant County court records. The court has ordered that information be collected about whether Omondi has a mental illness.