A judge in Coos County has sentenced Reina Jackson to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years, for the 2021 killing of her ex-husband, a Navy veteran and physician, according to the Oregon Department of Justice.
A Coos County jury found Jackson guilty of second-degree murder on April 24, 2026, after a three-week trial.
Prosecutors said Dr. Craig Jackson, a physician at Bay Clinic in Coos Bay, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 2021, at his home in North Bend. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Reina Jackson conspired with two other individuals to carry out the killing, according to the Oregon Department of Justice.
“Dr. Craig Jackson served his country, built a career dedicated to caring for people, and was building a new life for himself and his daughter,” Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement. “What happened to him was brutal and calculated. His family deserved justice, and the sentence reflects the gravity of what was done.”
Authorities said the couple had been involved in a contentious divorce and custody dispute that lasted for years. Before the killing, a court granted Dr. Jackson full custody of their daughter, Isabella.
According to the department, Reina Jackson withdrew Isabella from school and fled to Guatemala before her arrest. Since then, Isabella has not had contact with Dr. Jackson’s family.
Authorities arrested Jackson in Atlanta in June 2023 after she returned to the United States.
The Oregon Department of Justice said Senior Assistant Attorneys General Brad Kalbaugh and Gavin Bruce handled the prosecution, with support from the Coos County District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation was led by the Oregon State Police and the North Bend Police Department, with assistance from the Coos Bay Police Department, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.
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