Jesse was killed by a bomb in the district attorney's office as a result of his campaign against the Dixie Mafia. Keith, Jesse's son, took over as district attorney and pledged to get his father's murder dealt with.
At the point when Jesse put Hugh's dad, Spear Malco, in prison for prostitution, Hugh organized with Nevin Noll, Spear's right-hand man, to have Jesse killed. Hugh hired Henry Taylor to set off a bomb inside Jesse's office in the courthouse using Nevin's connections..