Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Newport News, VA: Newport News man accused of killing wife says he snapped

NEWPORT NEWS— Rodney Jackson said when he heard his 9-year-old daughter's voice, he realized what he had done to her mother.

"It was because of her saying, 'Daddy, daddy, don't kill me,' that I came out that fog," Jackson testified Tuesday. "It was that little girl that brought me back to reality."

Seconds earlier, Jackson had shot and killed his wife, Kelly Parsley-Jackson, in front of their daughter on Jan. 27, 2011, he testified. Jackson, 46, told a jury Tuesday he wanted to kill himself that day, but "snapped" under the pressure of the couple's troubled marriage.

"I just didn't want to be alive anymore," Jackson testified. "I just couldn't take it anymore."

Jackson is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife. During the second day of the trial Jackson testified that his marriage was strained due to his wife chatting with men online and neglecting their children, ages 9 and 2. The chats, which were described as sexual in nature, were between Parsley-Jackson and two men, according to court testimony. The men lived in Belgium and Connecticut.

Jackson testified that in an effort to save his marriage they went to counseling a few weeks before her death. The family also had an intervention for Parsley-Jackson to address her computer use. Jackson said he thought things were getting better until he found out his wife had planned to leave him and was meeting with a lawyer. He also found a passport in the seat of her van, he testified.

"She had a passport and a plane ticket to Belgium and she wasn't going to take the kids — it was for her," he said.

During his 90-minute testimony, Jackson said he didn't want to leave his children with their mother. His plan was to kill himself in hopes that his in-laws would take care of the kids. After leaving his job Jan. 27 Jackson purchased shells for a shotgun, according to court testimony. Next he drove to his Denbigh neighborhood and parked his truck in front of the next door neighbor's house before going into his home and shooting Parsley-Jackson, he testified. When he walked in the house he said he put the shotgun in another room and told the children to leave. Jackson testified that the couple began arguing.

"I don't know what went through my mind," Jackson testified. "When she said she was going to take the kids, my mind just snapped. … It was like my body was on autopilot. … I went and got the shotgun. I came back and pressed the trigger. I didn't know at the time how many times I shot her. I was in a fog."

At the scene, Jackson told police officers he shot his wife because he had to, according to court testimony.

A friend of Jackson's daughter was at the house along with the couple's 2-year-old son during the shooting. The girl, who is now 10, testified that Jackson told her and his children to leave the room, but Parsley-Jackson told her daughter to stay.

"We went downstairs in the playroom and then I heard gunshots … then I heard [the daughter] running down the stairs saying don't kill me," she said, as she clutched a brown stuffed animal.

Next the girl said she escaped the house by crawling barefoot through a doggie door.

"I was scared. … I climbed over a fence and hid on the side of the house," the girl said.

Parsley-Jackson called her best friend, Sharon Rodgers, the day of her death, but the two never spoke.

"I heard her say, 'Rodney don't do it,' Rodgers testified. "I heard muffling and then the phone went dead."

If the jury finds Jackson guilty they have three options: first-degree murder, second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. The possible sentence ranges from 10 years on the manslaughter charge to life in prison on the first-degree murder charge.

"Rodney was concerned that his family was falling apart and his family was everything," said Patricia Parsley, Parsley-Jackson's mother. "Rodney was a good father, he was a family man. … His family was his life."

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