A jury has found Alexander Jackson, 22, guilty of murdering his parents and sister at their Iowa home. It was argued by the defense that police acted prematurely when responding to the Linn County residence on June 15, 2021. According to the prosecution, defendant Jackson’s story about being attacked by an intruder was a complete fabrication.
In his opening statement, prosecutor Jordan Scheier described how Sabrina Hana Jackson, 19, was shot twice, once through her chest and once through her eye.
Jan Perry Jackson, 61, the father of the siblings, was shot five times: in the head, in the neck, and in the stomach. The mother, Melissa Ferne Jackson, 68, was shot twice, both times at close range, according to prosecutors.
It was Scheier’s contention that the shots began at a distance and became closer and closer as time went on.
Jackson was the only survivor of this massacre. The body cam footage shown in court shows that the responding officers found him in the home, lying on the ground and having been shot in the foot. According to him, he was asleep on the porch when he heard a noise and was forced to fight an intruder who he described as a black man wearing black clothing.
As far as the prosecutor was concerned, there was no evidence that anyone else was at the residence that day.
Investigators noted in interview footage that someone accessed defendant Jackson’s social media accounts at 6 a.m. on the morning of the murder, despite his claim to have awoken during the shootings after 8 a.m.
During opening remarks, defense lawyer Lindsay Garner stated that the police made a hasty decision. She stated that within 35 minutes of the seven-hour police interview, officers had determined that Jackson was the shooter. In her statement, she stated that investigators did not conduct DNA tests on the shell casings. She stated that there were two prints on the gun. There was one belonging to Alexander Jackson. The other belonged to an unidentified individual, she stated.
A dog behavior expert was also brought in by the defense, who testified that the police dog at the crime scene was improperly handled and would have difficulty picking up a scent.
During the trial, jurors also heard testimony from individuals who knew Jackson from years prior in an attempt to demonstrate that the allegations were completely out of character for the defendant. Several character witnesses were called by the defense, including a high school friend who described Jackson as even-tempered and never getting into trouble, as well as an Eagle Scout scoutmaster who stated he never misbehaved.