An Oregon woman will spend the rest of her life in prison for killing her ex.
A Coos County jury this week found 46-year-old Reina Jackson guilty of second-degree murder after a three-week trial over the 2021 death of her former husband.
“Dr. Craig Jackson served his country, built a career focused on caring for others, and was creating a new life for himself and his daughter,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
“What happened to him was brutal and deliberate. His family deserved justice, and the sentence reflects the seriousness of what was done.”
Dr. Craig Jackson, Reina’s ex-husband and a physician at Bay Clinic in Coos Bay, died after someone shot him in his North Bend home on Aug. 2, 2021. The couple had recently gone through a contentious divorce, and Dr. Jackson had received full custody of their daughter.
Evidence presented by the state during the trial indicated that Reina conspired with two others to carry out the attack. According to a memo from prosecutors, Reina entered her ex’s home with two accomplices in the middle of the night and struggled with him in his bedroom. She shot him in the rectum and then in the head.
His new wife, who had been in bed with him when Reina and the others entered, said she quickly rolled off the bed and hid underneath it. Once she believed it was safe, she came out and found her husband shot and lying in the hallway.
Police later discovered a hand-drawn map of Dr. Jackson’s home in Reina’s vehicle, along with DNA evidence from two unidentified men believed to have been with her. She was also on probation for previously breaking into his home and assaulting him.
Shortly before authorities arrested her, Reina pulled her daughter out of school and fled to Guatemala. Police later arrested her in Atlanta after she returned to the U.S. on June 10, 2023.
According to court documents obtained by KOIN 6 News, Dr. Jackson’s family believes Reina forged a $40,000 check in his name and used the money to buy land in Guatemala. The check cleared just days after his death.
The court sentenced Reina to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years.
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