Former Jackson Five drummer found stabbed to death

A former drummer for the Jackson Five was stabbed to death, police said.

Johnny Jackson, 54, of Gary, was found dead late on Wednesday in a Gary, Indiana home, the Lake County coroner’s office said.

Reports conflict on whether Johnny Jackson was related to Gary’s legendary Jackson family, which includes pop stars Michael and Janet.

Police went to the home late on Wednesday night after an upstairs resident heard a disturbance between Jackson and a woman on the first floor, Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Arnold said.

The resident went downstairs and discovered Jackson unresponsive with a stab wound to his chest, Arnold said.

Gary police believe Johnny Jackson, who replaced the Jackson Five’s original drummer, Milford Hite, around 1967, was a cousin of the famous family. Some internet sites report that Jackson was not a blood relative of the family.

“It hurts me so bad,” said boyhood friend and current bandmate Anthony Acoff yesterday.

“I called him that night. We were supposed to go to a jam session.”

Police still were looking for the woman who lived at the address.

Police did not recover a weapon from the scene, Arnold said.

Jackson grew up only a few blocks from the Jackson family and had made a name for himself as a drumming prodigy before he started high school, said Gordon Keith, who has sued Jackson family members several times over the rights to their early recordings with his Steeltown Records.

“He was a show drummer,” Keith recalled. “There were times that he would outshine Michael at their shows.”

In recent years, Jackson played with Acoff’s band, White Dove.

Several months ago, Jackson’s drinking forced his bandmates to drop him from the line-up. He rejoined the group only a few weeks ago, Acoff said.

“We played a show two weeks ago, and he was clean and he sounded great, man,” Acoff said.