In the quiet community of Newport News, Virginia, the life of 39-year-old Kelly Ann Parsley-Jackson, a dedicated private elementary school teacher, came to a tragic and violent end on January 27, 2011. A native of Saratoga Springs, New York, she had made a home in Newport News for the preceding 11 years, where she was an active member of her church and a beloved Girl Scout Leader.
The harrowing events unfolded in her own home on Harrington Road, where she was fatally shot with a shotgun.
The sole witness to this horrific act was her 9-year-old daughter. The perpetrator was swiftly identified as her husband, Rodney B. Jackson. He was arrested and subsequently charged with the murder of his wife.
During the trial, Rodney Jackson testified that his marriage to Kelly had been under significant strain. He cited his wife's online interactions with other men, which were described as sexual in nature, and what he perceived as neglect of their children as sources of tension. He claimed that on the day of the murder, he had intended to take his own life but 'snapped' instead. According to his testimony, it was the sound of his daughter's voice pleading with him not to kill her that brought him back to reality after the shooting. He told the jury he was in a 'fog' and that his body was on 'autopilot' when he retrieved the shotgun and fired it.
Despite his testimony, a jury convicted Rodney B. Jackson of first-degree murder and a firearms charge. The jury recommended a sentence of 23 years in prison, a recommendation that was upheld by the Newport News Circuit Judge. Following the tragic loss of their mother, Kelly's children were left to navigate a world irrevocably altered by domestic violence.
