Tre Robert Allen Ackerson, right inset, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing of Osage citizen Jolene Walker Campbell, left inset. (Screenshots from CBS Pittsburgh, Kansas, affiliate KOAM-TV/YouTube)
A 29-year-old man has pleaded guilty to the abduction and murder of an Osage Nation citizen found shot, with her throat cut and injuries from a beating, in a field on the Muscogee Nation reservation in Oklahoma.
Tre Robert Allen Ackerson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing of Jolene Walker Campbell, 35. Ackerson faces up to life in federal prison with no possibility of parole, prosecutors said.
Ackerson admitted to the killing in a written plea agreement with prosecutors obtained by Law&Crime.
“I intentionally shot Jolene Walker Campbell twice with a firearm, cut her throat with a knife and hit her head several times with a tire jack until she died from the injuries,” he wrote.
His public defenders did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said Ackerson and others conspired to kidnap and brutally murder the victim. Eight others have pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy.
“Then they conspired with additional codefendants to threaten witnesses and destroy evidence in an extensive effort to cover up their crimes,” he said. “This final conviction reflects three years of work and commitment from our law enforcement partners and federal prosecutors to provide justice for the victim and her family.”
Campbell was abducted on July 5, 2020, when Ackerson and Breanna Sloan drove around Joplin, Missouri.
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The abduction happened after Ackerson saw Campbell walking on the side of a road.
“That’s that b—-!” Ackerson told Sloan he had robbed her a few hours earlier, prosecutors said.
The two then agreed to lure Campbell into the vehicle. Sloan drove past Campbell and let Ackerson out so he could hide in the woods. Then Sloan waited for Campbell to walk up to her car and offered her a ride, authorities said.
When Campbell got into the car, Ackerson emerged from the woods armed with a gun, climbed in, and told Sloan to drive.
“Ackerson attempted to rob Campbell again, but she had nothing more for him to steal,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Campbell suggested they drive from Missouri to Oklahoma City to meet a friend to get the money Ackerson wanted, officials said. During the drive, Campbell fell asleep. When they reached Mayes County, Oklahoma, Ackerson told Sloan to turn onto a dead-end dirt road, where he forced Campbell into a field and killed her.
Campbell’s body was found on July 15, 2020, 10 days later, by a man baling hay.
Sloan, 24, pleaded guilty in November to aiding and abetting Ackerson in the kidnapping and that the victim died as a result of the kidnapping, prosecutors said. She faces up to life in prison.
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