Closing arguments made in Alexander Jackson trial, case in hands of jury

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) -The future of a Cedar Rapids man accused of killing his family is now up to the jury. Alexander Jackson faces three counts of First Degree Murder in the shooting deaths of his parents and sister in 2021.

Closing arguments began with prosecutors pointing to the 911 call Jackson made to police. During that call he claimed someone broke in and shot him in the foot, but he was never heard checking in on his family.

”The reason the defendant isn’t calling out to his sister is because he knows that she is dead. He doesn’t call out to his mom, mom I’ve been shot, mom are you okay? Mom help me, check on dad, because he knows that his mother is also dead,” said Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter.

Jackson’s defense team argued he is the fourth victim in the case. They showed photos of the family to the jury.

”These pictures and pictures like this were all over the walls of this home. And as you listened to Miss Slaughter this morning the one thing she didn’t say is why. Why would Alexander Jackson kill his family? It makes no sense,” said Defense Attorney Tyler Johnston.

But prosecutors pointed to evidence like Jackson’s prints on the gun, and surveillance video from the home showing no signs of an intruder. They said they’re not required to prove a motive

”There’s never going to be a good enough reason why Alexander Jackson executed his entire family,” said Slaughter.

Meanwhile Jackson’s attorney poked holes in the investigation. Johnston said a motion activated security camera in the backyard wasn’t working properly, indicating an intruder may have been missed.

”The motion detector didn’t catch that part so there’s something wrong with the motion detector on that camera,” Johnston said.

One key piece of evidence is the murder weapon, a gun belonging to the family. Two of Jackson’s prints were found on the gun and a third print wasn’t of good enough quality to be matched. The gun held 11 bullets and was fired at least 15 times, meaning at some point it was reloaded. Loading the gun was something that stumped experienced investigators so it’s unlikely an intruder would have been able to figure it out.

”He had to watch a YouTube video on how to load this gun,” Slaughter said.

Johnston argued Jackson was given fentanyl for his foot before he was interviewed by police. He believes the drug plus trauma from the incident could have impacted Jackson’s memory when he told police what happened.

Testimony Day 1.

Testimony Day 2.

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Testimony Day 5.

Testimony Day 6.

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