Trial reset to April for 21-year-old charged with killing parents, sister in Cedar Rapids

Trial set for April 5

Dec. 10, 2021 11:59 am, Updated: Jan. 20, 2022 9:53 am

Alexander Ken Jackson, 20, of Cedar Rapids, charged in slayings of his mother, father and sister in their northeast Cedar Rapids home on June 15, 2021. (Linn County Jail photo)

CEDAR RAPIDS — The trial for a 21-year-old University of Iowa sophomore charged with killing his parents and sister in June has been reset to April 5 in Linn County District Court.

A judge said last month the previous January date would be reset after the last pretrial hearing because attorneys for Alexander Ken Jackson said they still waiting were to take depositions and to exchange all evidence in the case.

Sixth Judicial District Chief Judge Lars Anderson let the prosecution and defense work on a new trial date with court administration.

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, on June 15.

Police were called about 8:30 a.m. to the Jackson home at 4414 Oak Leaf Ct. NE that day and found the three family members fatally shot, a criminal complaint said.

Jackson, then 20, told police that he’d been awakened by the sound of 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 believe 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.