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Jury convicts Jackson in husband’s death
Written by Kelley Lannigan
Thursday, 21 May 2009
A 12-member jury took less than two hours on May 15 following a five-day trial to convict Meloney Lee Jackson of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband in March, 2008.
The death of Kevin Jackson took place one day before the couple’s divorce was set to be finalized and came as the result of being shot repeatedly, once through the heart, once in the back of the head and five times in the back.
He was dressed in his AirGas work uniform and his car keys, lunch container and customary bagel wrapped in tinfoil that he carried with him each morning were all found on the ground near his lifeless body.
The five-day trial included examination of 90 pieces of evidence and the testimony of numerous expert, material and character witnesses, including the Mrs. Jackson’s minor children, Autumn, 14, and Dustin, 17.
Mrs. Jackson, 40, admitted shooting her husband but pleaded self defense.
“This case was like a puzzle with many pieces,” said Jeff Gadboys, co-counsel for the state. “It was the state’s job to lay out all these pieces for the jury to see and then show how they all fit together. Everything argued against self-defense.”
“The jury reached the verdict extraordinarily quickly,” said Geoffrey Fleck, lead prosecutor for the state.
Daughter Autumn shared the same sentiments when she was on the stand.
“My mother is just really mean,” she said.
The morning of the murder
During deliberation, the jury of mostly women requested to reconvene late Saturday afternoon in the courtroom where they listened again to the 12-minute 911 call from the morning of the murder.
On the recording, the Jacksons’ terrified daughter can be heard begging for help and shouting, “Oh God, I don’t want my daddy to die.”
Mrs. Jackson can also be heard shrieking, “Go back inside. You can’t see this.”
Jodie Johnson, whose residence is near that of the Jacksons’ on John Rowe Road, was awake in the pre-dawn hours of March 3 preparing for work when she heard a gunshot around 5:00 am.
“It was so loud, it was like a cannon going off,” said Ms. Johnson.
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