Samuel Younge Jr.

Samuel Younge Jr., 21, a Navy veteran, civil rights activist, and freshman at Tuskegee Institute, was fatally shot beneath the left eye by 68-year-old gas station attendant Marvin Segrest just before midnight on January 3, 1966, after an argument over Younge's use of a whites-only restroom. Segrest was arrested the next day, indicted for second-degree murder by a Macon County grand jury, and released on $20,000 bond. His shooting set off a demonstration in Tuskegee attended by roughly 2,000 students and faculty. At trial in December 1966, forensic testimony indicated the fatal shot had been fired from several feet away, contradicting any claim of a close struggle. An all-white jury in Lee County acquitted Segrest after deliberating for 71 minutes.

Tuskegee, AL · Macon County

• 1966: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• Victim identity, background, and the January 3, 1966 date and circumstances, per the DOJ's public case file.
• Marvin Segrest was indicted for second-degree murder and tried, but was acquitted by an all-white jury after 71 minutes of deliberation in December 1966, per the same file.

• No one was ever convicted in Younge's death.
• The medical examiner's finding that the fatal shot came from several feet away was never reconciled with any account of a close physical struggle.

• U.S. Department of Justice — Notice to Close File
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs