October 19, 2026 | By: Chandler Thompson

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Family was everything to Jacquez Anlage. He was known by those who loved him to be extremely charismatic, goofy, and enthusiastic about everything.

“He thought he could sing,” his mother, Crystal Anlage, said. “We loved carpool karaoke and when a song comes on that we loved I just sit back and think ‘I see you J.’”

Crystal looks for her son in the music they shared because they can no longer find new music together. In 2020, Jacquez was staying at a friend’s apartment in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Florida. There was a knock on the door of the apartment located near Playa Way and University Boulevard North. Jacquez was fatally shot upon answering the door. It was exactly two months before his 21^st birthday. The murderer has never been identified.

Jacquez spent most of his childhood in the foster care system. He had a hard time in the system, as many children do, until he found his forever family in Crystal and her husband, Matthew Anlage. Crystal began fostering him when he was 14 and on Feb. 17^th, 2016, when Jacquez was 16, she and her husband officially adopted him.

“It didn’t take him much time to warm up to Crystal and them at all,” said Dyllan Cain, his older brother by birth. “I think it was because he could tell he’d finally found his family.”

Jacquez knew what he had found and wasn’t letting her out of his sight.

“He was ridiculously protective. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere by myself. And God forbid someone look at me wrong,” Crystal said.

If you didn’t mess with his loved ones, however, Jacquez was known to always have a smile on his face. He knew how to light up a room and there was never a dull moment when he was around.

“I used to make fun of him by calling him Bruno Mars because he was always dancing and singing in front of the mirror,” Dyllan recalled. “He always knew how to cheer someone up.”

Dyllan’s favorite memory with Jacquez, however, was when they were young kids. The Twilight movie franchise was at the peak of its popularity, and Jacquez was pretending to be Jacob, the main werewolf character. Dyllan laughed as he was reminiscing about the memory.

“He got himself stuck in a tree and couldn’t get himself back down. We had to call the fire department and everything. I couldn’t stop laughing,” he said.

Crystal recalled the struggle that many mothers of teenage boys in sports often go through: the never-ending stomach. Jacquez was 6’4 and passionate about sports, specifically football.

“All he did was eat. I had to make sure I always kept ramen noodles stocked because those were his favorite,” she said. Football kept Jacquez focused on school. His coach, Rodney Dubose, at Westside High School, required him to keep good grades if he wanted to play.

When Jacquez answered the door the morning of Oct. 17^th, 2020, he was not expecting what was waiting for him on the other side. Jacquez was shot at point blank range and quickly bled out from the fatal wound. Dyllan says a friend texted him to let him know his brother had died.

“When I got the text from a friend of mine, I actually didn’t think it was real,” he said. “Weirdly enough I received a text a week or so prior that the same thing had happened to my sister and that turned out to not be true. But this was true.” Dyllan had made plans to meet up with Jacquez that day. The police never reached out to him. Dyllan had to contact the police with his information.

Crystal says she also did not receive the support she expected from the police. “The police have only contacted me twice since the murder happened in 2020 without me having to contact them first,” she said. “Once was three days after the murder. The other was the lead investigator telling me to stop sending pictures of my son and that he has enough.” Little information has been given to the family about the case, but they continue to hope that one day the person will be found.

Jacquez’s father, Matthew, still grieves his son – so much so that it’s hard for him to talk about it. In a written statement, he said, “Jacquez had this way of making me laugh, sometimes when I didn’t think I could. His humor was part of who he was, and it’s one of the things I hold onto the tightest. I miss my son more than I can put into words. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him, talk to him, or wish I could hear his voice again. I love you, son. I’ll carry you with me for the rest of my life, and I’ll make sure your name is never forgotten.”

Grief still radiates through everyone who loves Jacquez years after his death. Dyllan speaks about the way he feels as though it’s his fault because he’s the older brother and he should’ve been there to protect him that morning. Jacquez’s passing led Crystal to help others. Crystal is a victim advocate for the Project: Cold Case team. She also founded the Jacksonville Survivors Foundation, a non-profit that provides support for homicide survivors.

“It’s very difficult to talk to people who aren’t survivors. You can’t possibly understand unless you’ve been through it,” she said.

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Anyone with information regarding Jacquez Anlage’s case is encouraged to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-0500 or their Homicide Unit at (904) 630-2172. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, please call First Coast Crime Stoppers at (866) 845-8477.

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