DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Alicia Jackson grew up in Harrisburg then moved to Ohio to pursue a degree in architecture.
She went onto get her Master’s degree, fall in love and have a child of her own.
But in late 2010, her young life was cut short when she was brutally murdered in her Columbus apartment at the age of 25.
Nearly twelve years later, details surrounding her death remain a mystery.
Her father, Kevin, recalls the night his daughter was killed.
“You keep wondering how somebody can hate somebody and be evil to that degree that they would take a life, especially in that fashion, and live with themselves,” he said.
On the night of December 2nd, 2010, Alicia was found deceased by her fiancé, Eugene Wilson. She was covered in blood from more than 30 stab wounds.
“I shared that initially with my mother and I’ll never forget the wail from her in the bedroom…wow,” said Kevin Jackson.
Eugene not only discovered her body, he also found the couple’s two-year-old son, sitting in his high chair unharmed.
The TV was still on, as was the stove.
There was no evidence of forced entry.
“It’s one thing to pass away, it’s another thing to pass away young, it’s another thing to be killed but it’s another thing to be stabbed in the way she was stabbed, and then to ice the cake, stabbed in front of her most prized possession,” said Shauntay Jackson, Alicia’s cousin and best friend.
When Alicia was killed, her younger brother Trevin lost one of his biggest supporters.
“I wanted to call her, wanted to text her, and I expected her, I almost subconsciously expected her to be there when I was going back home for her funeral and I had to keep telling myself ‘No this is her funeral you’re going to,’” said Trevin Jackson.
Now in his thirties and living in North Carolina, Trevin is finally able to bring himself to talk about his sister’s death
“Definitely the most difficult day I ever went through,” he said.
Alicia was a graduate of Central Dauphin East High School.
She was loved by many. Her senior year, she was voted Homecoming Queen and “Most likely to impact the world.”
“They say no one’s perfect and obviously I’m not saying she was perfect but as close to perfection as you can get, she was,” said Shauntay.
Alicia moved to Columbus to pursue a degree in architecture a Ohio State University.
Shauntay says that’s where she met and fell in love with Eugene.
“They were happy, so I didn’t think or have any second guesses that this wasn’t a right situation,” said Shauntay.
After Alicia became pregnant, she learned Eugene had been unfaithful, fathering a child with another woman.
“There was a rough patch but she ultimately decided to get through that and she decided to move forward,” said Shauntay.
The couple patched things up and planned to relocate to Texas.
But shortly before they were set to move, Alicia was murdered.
“I don’t want to imagine what it would have been like to see her at the crime scene itself,” said Kevin Jackson. “From what I’m hearing, it was just blood everywhere.”
Autopsy reports reveal Jackson was stabbed more than 30 times in her head, face, neck, chest and arms.
“It takes a coward to shoot somebody, but to stab somebody that many times, you have feelings inside of you, feelings of rage, feelings of anger,” said Shauntay.
Through years of investigation, no charges have been filed and no suspect or person of interest has been publicly named.
Columbus police confirm Eugene Wilson is not a suspect.
Retired detective Steve Eppert led the case.
While he did not respond to our request for an interview, he recently spoke about the murder on a podcast with students of an Ohio high school.
He asked what they gathered from the way Alicia was killed.
The students told him they believed it meant the murder was very personal and very hate-driven.
Detective Eppert asked the students what that would usually indicate.
The students said they believe it indicates Alicia knew her killer, which Detective Eppert said investigators also believe.
Police say the investigation remains open and active.
Meanwhile, the Jackson family remains optimistic justice will be served.
“They can’t keep walking life and not feel any type of justice or not feel the consequences for what they did,” said Shauntay.
The family hopes someone, somewhere knows a piece of information that will lead them to Alicia’s killer.
“We’re not going to find that knife. We’re not going to find Alicia’s laptop and phone that were stolen from her townhouse that night,” said Shauntay. “We’re not going to get a confession at this point. Word of mouth is all we have.”
Giving them some semblance of closure about their loved one’s death.
“I remember sitting on a bed in one of the other bedrooms and I had this vision of Alicia fading off into the distance and she said ‘Good bye Daddy I’ll see you soon.’ I haven’t told a lot of people that but it was final, as far as I’m concerned, of her being here on this Earth,” said Kevin Jackson.
Alicia is buried in Lower Paxton Township.
If you have any information on the murder of Alicia Jackson, tips can be submitted anonymously online at Central Ohio Crime Stoppers, www.stopcrime.org, or by calling Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477 or toll-free at 1-877-645-8477.
Information also can be directed to the Columbus Police Division’s homicide cold case unit at 614-645-4036.