Family Mourns Their “Angel” as Her Killer Gets Life
BOSTON, May 31, 2016—Family members and friends of 25-year-old Keosha Gilmore recalled the pain of losing “an angel” as the childhood friend who murdered her was sentenced to life in prison.
CHRISTOPHER JACKSON (D.O.B. 10/8/86) faced sentencing today after a Suffolk Superior Court jury last week convicted him of second-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and carrying a loaded firearm. Judge Raffi Yessayan sentenced Jackson to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years – the mandatory term for the offense of second-degree murder – and concurrent sentences of six to seven years on the firearm charges.
Before the sentence was imposed several of Gilmore’s loved ones addressed the court.
Keosha Gilmore
“She was a friend to everyone she met – including Mr. Christopher Jackson. She was sensitive to other’s needs, compassionate, caring, and non-judgmental,” Keosha’s mother said in an impact statement. “I will never see Keosha get married. I’ll never be a grandmother to her children. She’ll never be a wife or a mother herself. We’ll never know what her future would have been …. I feel like a part of me is missing. It’s like a limb is gone.”
“The pain I have encountered no one would understand,” Gilmore’s best friend told the court. “The people that knew her were blessed and lucky. The people that didn’t I wish you would at least bump into her because she was amazing, kind-hearted, understanding, all around an angel from God.”
At trial, Assistant District Attorney Mark D. Zanini introduced evidence and testimony to prove that Jackson was angry that Gilmore did not share his romantic feelings when he fatally shot her as she sat in a car parked on Alabama Street with her then-boyfriend on the night of Feb. 19, 2012.
After the shooting, Jackson fled into New Calvary Cemetery and attempted to hide the firearm, latex gloves, and other items. All of those items were recovered by Boston Police that night.
During the course of their investigation, Boston Police homicide detectives became aware of Jackson’s romantic interest in Gilmore. They interviewed Jackson, obtained a DNA sample from him, and conducted testing that matched his unique genetic profile to DNA evidence on the items discarded in the cemetery on the night of the shooting.
Jackson made statements during a second interview with police admitting that he had discarded the items and “made the mistake of letting my anger overshadow my intelligence.”
The victims of any crime, including domestic violence, should call 911 in an emergency. SafeLink, a statewide DV hotline, can be reached at 877-785-2020. SafeLink is answered by trained advocates 24 hours a day in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as TTY at 877-521-2601. It also has the capacity to provide multilingual translation in more than 140 languages.
Assistant District Attorney Gretchen Sherwood second-seated Zanini at trial. Eliana Builes is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Jackson is represented by Kevin Mitchell.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
