Another trial delay for University of Iowa student charged with killing parents, sister

CEDAR RAPIDS — The trial for a University of Iowa student charged with killing his parents and sister in Cedar Rapids will be bumped, possibly after the year anniversary of the fatal shootings, and may be moved to another county.

Lawyers for Alexander Jackson, 21, during a status hearing Friday, told 6th Judicial District Chief Judge Lars Anderson that the previously set trial date of April 5 wasn’t possible because they just recently received all the discovery from the prosecution and needed to schedule depositions.

Jackson waived his right to appear and did not attend the hearing. He has not attended any pretrial hearings since being charged.

Tyler Johnston, one of Jackson’s lawyers, said they also would be filing for a change of venue and would file a one-year waiver — meaning Jackson waives his right to have a trial within a year of the June 15, 2021, triple homicide.

Anderson told the defense and prosecution that the next date they set for trial will be the final reset.

The trial will take less than 10 days, possibly eight, Assistant Linn County Attorney Jordan Schier estimated.

Jackson, who graduated from Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of killing his father, Jan Jackson, 61; mother, Melissa Jackson, 68; and sister, Sabrina Jackson, 19.

Police were called about 8:30 a.m. to the Jackson home at 4414 Oak Leaf Ct. NE on June 15 of last year and found the three family members had been fatally shot, a criminal complaint said.

Jackson, then 20, told police he had been awakened by gunfire and was shot in the foot as he struggled over a rifle with a masked intruder.

Investigators found no evidence of forced entry or burglary at the home, the complaint stated.

They found a .22-caliber Browning semi-automatic rifle in the home that police think is the murder weapon. Jackson said he and his father had left it on the fireplace after cleaning it the night before, according to the complaint.

During Jackson’s initial court appearance, a prosecutor said Jackson “concocted” the story of an intruder to cover up the “execution” of his family.

Jackson remains in jail on a $3 million cash-only bail.

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