Jaquavia Jackson, on the left, and Deputy Shakeema Jackson, on the right, appear inset against the home the husband destroyed with his infidelity and violence. (Newton County Sheriff’s Office; Fulton County Sheriff’s Office; Screengrab via WSB-TV.)
A Georgia man didn’t want his law enforcement wife to discover the “extent of his lying and cheating,” so he shot and killed her and her brother in a planned ambush and failed coverup effort. He was recently convicted for those crimes, authorities announced.
Jaquavia Jackson, 30, was found guilty by a jury of his peers on two counts each of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during a felony, on Friday, the Newton County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.
“A daughter and a son were taken from a family in one horrific, premeditated incident,” Newton County District Attorney Randy McGinley said in a statement. “Nothing can ever make up for the tremendous loss of Shakeema and Levoy. But this verdict holds the person responsible that took them from their family.”
Shakeema Brown Jackson, 28, had just been promoted to Fulton County sheriff’s deputy after several years with the sheriff’s office; less than a year-and-a-half before that she gave birth to her son.
On Oct. 21, 2021, she was wrapped up in a blanket, laying on her couch, and scrolling through Facebook when her husband walked into the room, shot her multiple times and killed her. Jaquavia Jackson then turned the gun on her brother, Levoy Brown, 30, and killed him, too.
Then he called their mother and pretended.
“He called me before he called the police,” Zona Inman told Atlanta-based Fox affiliate WAGA in the days that followed. “‘Mom, mom, someone shot Shakeema and Levoy. They’re dead. They’re dead.””
The assailant fired another shot, toward the outside of the house, to substantiate a story that intruders had committed the crimes.
“The defendant was on scene and claimed, both on scene and in an interview at the Sheriff’s Office, that two unknown men entered the house and killed his wife and her brother,” the DA’s office said.
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But the story quickly unraveled.
Investigators soon learned that the Jacksons were both scheduled to attend court the day after the slayings – in response to a subpoena, the DA’s office said. The killer, it turned out, was being sued by two separate women for fathering their children. And, after sending “someone else” to provide DNA in two separate child paternity disputes, Jaquavia Jackson was set to answer questions about “these fake DNA tests and his wife would have found out the truth and extent of his lying and cheating,” the DA’s office said.
During the defendant’s trial, jurors also learned that Jaquavia Jackson had asked a neighbor whether their security cameras were working on the morning of the murders. The neighbor said they weren’t – but at least one neighbor had cameras that were. Footage showed no one came in or out of the house on Windcrest Drive on the day in question.
Law enforcement also showed that text messages and call logs between the defendant and his wife contradicted the false claims made about the two men who burst through the front door.
“He stole them from me,” Inman told WAGA. “He took it from me. She was my princess. My jewel.”
A GoFundMe was started to help the grandmother raise the child Shakeema Jackson left behind.
“Shakeema was not only a deputy she was also a Mother, a daughter, wife, a loving sister and trusted friend to many,” the fundraiser reads. “She leaves behind a 17 month old son (Ashton) and a brother and mother who will miss her dearly. Lavoy Brown was a 30 years old young man. He was always known as the nice guy, always smiling, laughing and always brought positive energy everywhere he went. Lavoy has a love for fashion, music and photography. You can always count on him to show up and show out. He also leaves behind a Brother, nephew, and his loving mother as well as a community that will miss him dearly.”
Jaquavia Jackson is currently being detained in the Newton County Jail. His sentencing date will be set at a later time.
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