Mario Mitchell has been living a “nightmare” since Dec. 14, 2014.
That is when his son, Jakell Mitchell, freshman football player at Auburn University, was shot and killed at Tiger Lodge.
“It’s like half of your heart’s been cut out,” Mario said.
Mario said he remembers his son every day, and the grief of losing him has not changed in almost a year.
“It’s constant pain,” Mario said. “It’s not one of them that lets up today because you had a good day doing everything else ... my other son might score 10 points, it just makes me remember when (Jakell) was doing the same thing.”
Arlicia Mitchell, Jakell’s mother, said she does not remember many details from the night of the shooting.
“I had so many people talking to me, asking me questions,” Arlicia said.
Mario was in Texas that night, and Arlicia called him to tell him what happened.
“My world just stopped,” Mario said. “My world just stopped, and it hasn’t started back up.”
He said he was in “total denial.”
“I just wanted someone to tell me that she was wrong,” Mario said.
Mario and Arlicia said they find solace in the people who come visit, whether they are family, friends, teammates or coaches from Auburn or Opelika High School.
“Especially Auburn, they have been wonderful,” Arlicia said. “They really do keep in touch.”
Mario said younger children looked up to Jakell, especially his younger son, Jamius. He said Jakell was Jamius’ hero.
“You got little kids that just want to wear that No. 9 jersey,” Mario said. “They fight over it, I mean, they just miss him.”
Mario said Jakell related so well to his younger brother and other children because he was so childlike.
“He told his mom that day, ‘I’m just going to be a kid today,’” Mario said.
Arlicia said Jakell spent the day with her at a family gathering before going to the party at Tiger Lodge.
Mario said his son wanted to love and be loved by everyone, regardless of their needs or whether he knew them.
“His best friend in high school had seizures,” Mario said. “And people picked on him. So Jakell just took him under his wing and made him now one of the most popular little kids at school.”
Arlicia and Mario said people loved Jakell’s smile and giving personality. Arlicia said Jakell once wrote about taking food from home and giving it to people in need.
“He couldn’t stand to see nobody cry,” Arlicia said.
Markale Hart was arrested and charged with Jakell’s murder the same day of the shooting, however, Robert Treese, Lee County District Attorney, said it could be up to a year before Hart stands trial because of other cases, preliminary hearings and any evidence that needs to go through lab testing.
“We’ll just move it forward as quickly and efficiently as we can,” Treese said.
Hart pleaded not guilty Nov. 12, and Jerry Blevins, Hart’s attorney, said Hart shot Jakell in self-defense after Jakell allegedly pulled out a gun during an altercation.
Mario said he does not pay attention to any media or stories about that night. He said he will wait until the trial to hear everything and understands that Hart’s lawyers have to do their jobs.
“If I’m going to be surprised, it’s definitely going to be that day,” Mario said.
Mario and Arlicia said they will never be able to forgive Hart, and the trial will not bring them any closure.
Mario said family doesn’t visit or talk about Jakell sometimes, because the pain is so intense.
“Nobody wants to talk about it, nobody wants to remember it that way,” Mario said. “It’s one of those that you never want to do because you’re not supposed to. You’re not supposed to bury your son, your son is supposed to bury you. It’s never supposed to happen that way.”
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