MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County Grand Jury has indicted a 60-year-old man in the 2020 murders of a Memphis couple who were taking their son to court to testify against a man accused of shooting him earlier that year.
The Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office said Jaja Mani, also known as Curtis Gouldin, was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
A second man, 44-year-old Troy Clay, was indicted for coercion of a witness.
A third suspect is still being sought and anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.
The shooting happened about 8:30 a.m. Nov. 12, 2020 in the 1500 block of Patterson Street. Police said they found Emmanuel Macdonal Sr., 39, and his wife, Nancy Macdonal, 42, dead after being shot several times in the driveway of their home. Their son was in the backseat of the car and was seriously injured but survived.
Prosecutors said at the time of their murder, the Macdonals were taking their son to the Memphis Courthouse to testify against a man who was charged with shooting the son in the head in June 2020, leaving him disabled.
Investigators said 10 days before the Macdonals were murdered, two men – believed to be Mani and Clay – showed up at the couple’s home and offered them $10,000 for their son to not testify.
Prosecutors said a day before the shooting, home surveillance video showed Mani leaving an envelope with $1,000, a lawyer’s business card, and a note saying “Contact this (sic) let them know you were mistaken and can’t be responsible for an innocent person going to jail. Rest to come! Emmanuel.”
Mani and Clay were arrested the same day as the shooting at an apartment in Hickory Hill.
ABC24 reached out to the D.A.’s office about where an arrest warrant stands against a previous suspect in the case – a teenager who was on the run. We were told there was nothing to share at the moment. The teen’s parents were charged with accessory after the fact, accused of submitting a passport application for their son so he could leave the country. Their case is pending action by a Grand Jury.
