Anchorage woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing death of 3-year-old daughter

An Anchorage woman has been sentenced to spend 20 years in prison for stabbing her 3-year-old daughter to death in 2019.

Kelsey Jackson, now 27, was undergoing a mental health episode when she killed her daughter, Brooklyn Jackson, attorneys said during the telephonic sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

The case is exceptionally tragic, said Superior Court Judge Catherine Easter.

“I think it goes without saying there’s something about a death of a child that just sort of wrenches you from your core,” she said. “Especially the fact that she was so young and the fact that this was her mom.”

Jackson and her daughter were found in the back seat of her SUV parked at Point Woronzof early on March 13, 2019, according to an affidavit written by Detective Ross Henikman. Brooklyn Jackson had multiple stab wounds and was dead, the affidavit said. Jackson had tried to take her own life that day too, said her attorney, Tristan Bordon.

Jackson pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in September. A charge of both first- and second-degree murder was dismissed as part of a plea agreement that called for her to spend 20 years in prison and another 10 years on probation after her release.

“Nothing will make up for taking the life of my dear precious daughter Brooklyn — rest in peace. It haunts me every day and I treasure the pictures I have of her and memories I hold onto,” Jackson told the court during Tuesday’s hearing. “I love my daughter more than anything. I don’t want to make any excuses for what I’ve done but accept the time I need to do.”

Bordon said Jackson has faced a punishment greater than the court could ever impose because she lives with guilt and grief from her daughter’s death.

Jackson has focused on treating her substance use and mental health issues during her incarceration, she said. The plea agreement also includes conditions for her probation that address mental health and substance use.