June 17, 2021- 5:46 p.m.
An Iowa college student was arrested on Wednesday for murdering his entire family, despite claiming that a “masked man” was responsible.
According to a press release from the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the incident occurred on Tuesday at around 8:23 p.m. local time when police were dispatched to a residence at 4414 Oak Leaf Court NE, following reports of a possible shooting.
Police said when they arrived to the residence, they discovered three family members that had sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced deceased on the scene. The three family members were identified by police as 61-year-old Jan Perry Jackson; 68-year-old Melissa Ferne Jackson; and 19-year-old Sabrina Hana Jackson.
As a result of an investigation from the Cedar Rapids Police Department and Linn County Attorney’s Office, police identified 20-year-old Alexander Ken Jackson, as the fourth member of the family. Jackson has been charged with three counts of first degree murder as investigators believe he fatally shot his three family members.
“Alexander Jackson was treated at the hospital for a gunshot wound to the foot and, upon release from the hospital a short time ago, was transported to the Linn County Correctional Center. He is accused of using a firearm to kill his father, mother, and sister,” police said in the press release.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Daily Beast, Jackson was the one that called police claiming there was a male intruder inside his residence.
The complaint states Jackson informed police he “woke up to the sound of gunfire and was shot in the foot during a struggle with a masked man over the rifle.” According to the complaint, police discovered a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle in the residence, which they believe to be the murder weapon. Jackson told police he was cleaning the rifle with his father the night before the incident and placed it on the fireplace overnight, the complaint said, according to the Daily Beast.
Despite Jackson’s claims he was awoken by a masked intruder, the complaint says investigators were unable to find any evidence of forced entry into the residence.
According to the Gazette in Cedar Rapids, during Jackson’s first court appearance on Wednesday, Assistant Linn County Attorney Ryan Decker called the incident a “horrendous murder.”
“This was more than just a murder—it was an execution of the defendant’s mother, father and sister. Furthermore, the defendant’s concocted story of a phantom burglar shows the defendant acted out of malice and calculated intent to get away with these murders,” Decker said, the Gazette reported.
Jackson was booked into Linn County jail on Tuesday with his bond set at $3 million.
