Testimony underway in murder trial for Cedar Rapids man accused of killing his family

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Testimony is now underway in the murder trial for Alexander Jackson.

It comes after days of jury selection earlier this week. The trial expected to last nine days.

Alexander Jackson, 22, faces three counts of First Degree Murder. He’s accused of shooting and killing his father Jan, mother Melissa, and 19-year-old sister Sabrina in June 2021.

Jury selection began earlier this week.

Since the murders, Jackson maintains that he is not the person who killed his family inside their home on Oak Leaf Court northeast. Prosecutors plan to prove otherwise.

According to the criminal complaint in the case, Jackson called police on Tuesday morning, June 15, 2021. He reported that he woke up to the sound of gunshots and that he and his father has been shot by an intruder.

The complaint goes on to say Jackson told police he “was shot in the foot during a struggle with a masked man over the rifle.” But police arrived to find “no signs of forced entry or any indication the home had been burglarized.”

Police also said Jackson “admitted his father had recently advised that he needed to find a job or move out.”