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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa A 20-year-old man accused of killing his parents and younger sister at their family home in Iowa told police a masked intruder was to blame for the gunshot deaths, a complaint says criminal published today.
Alex Jackson called 911 Tuesday morning to report that he and his father had been shot by an intruder at their Cedar Rapids home, according to the complaint.
Officers who responded found Jan Jackson, 61, Melissa Jackson, 68, and Sabrina Jackson, 19, dead from gunshot wounds in various rooms of the house. They found Alex Jackson suffering from a gunshot wound to his foot and recovered a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle believed to have been the firearm used in the shooting.
Alex Jackson told police he woke up to the gunshots and was shot dead in a fight with a masked man over the gun, whom he claimed he and his father had left on the fireplace after cleaning it the night before, according to the complaint.
Investigators found no signs of a break-in or burglary at the home, according to the complaint signed by Linn County District Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden. Alex Jackson has denied shooting any members of his family, but admitted his father recently told him he had to find a job or leave home, according to the complaint.
Jackson was treated for his foot injury at a hospital before being sentenced Tuesday night on three counts of first degree murder at Linn County Jail. He made a brief initial court appearance this morning and was sentenced to $ 3 million bail.
A public defender representing him, Lindsay Garner, said he would plead not guilty after filing a formal charge sheet.
The case marks the first known triple homicide at Cedar Rapids since 1982 and only the second since at least 1959, according to Cedar Rapids Police Department spokesman Greg Buelow, who searched the agency’s records today. hui.
The audio of the Jacksons 911 call cannot be played because it contains information of material importance to our investigation, Buelow said.
The murders shocked acquaintances of the Jackson family, who had lived in the Oak Leaf Court home in a quiet suburban neighborhood for a decade.
Alex Jackson graduated from Kennedy High School in 2019, a year before his younger sister graduated from the same school, according to a spokesperson for the Cedar Rapids School District. He played the flute and his sister played the oboe in the school symphony orchestra in 2019.
Sabrina Jackson introduced then-presidential candidate Andrew Yang during her visit to Cedar Rapids to discuss global warming in December 2019, according to news reports.
Alex Jackson became an Eagle Scout in 2017 after working with the Save Cedar Rapids Heritage organization on a historic home renovation project. He spent hours painting the walls and ceiling of the house, originally built in the late 1800s, so low-income families could move into it, according to Boy Scouts of America Troop 766.
Alex Jackson had no criminal record in Iowa, not even a speeding ticket, according to a search of the state’s online courts database. Her parents and sister also did not have a criminal record in Iowa.
Alex Jackson was under surveillance today in accordance with prison practice for new inmates charged with crimes that may lead to life imprisonment, Sheriff Brian Gardner said. If convicted of first degree murder, he would not be eligible for parole.
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