Bond set at $1 million for Cedar Rapids man facing murder charges in fatal shooting of 15-year-old

The teenager was found dead in her sister’s car in July 2021

Feb. 14, 2022 1:27 pm, Updated: Feb. 15, 2022 9:51 am

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man who has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 15-year-old is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond at the Linn County Jail.

Marshawn Rome Jackson, 19, is also charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon and person ineligible to carry dangerous weapons.

The charges stem from the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Tyliyah L. Whitis, of Peoria, Ill. Whitis was found dead in her sister’s car on July 21, 2021. The car was crashed at the Hawthorne Hills Apartment Complex in the 2200 block of C Street SW.

The Iowa state medical examiner determined Whitis had died of a gunshot wound to the chest and ruled her death a homicide.

Whitis, who was in Cedar Rapids visiting her sister, attended grade school in Cedar Rapids before moving to Peoria with her mother.

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