Georgia man stabs and kills girlfriend, three children including 1-month-old girl in 'most brutal' case of domestic violence
A Georgia man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend and her three children.
27-year-old Travane Brandon Jackson, who has a past dotted with domestic violence, killed his girlfriend, 29-year-old Jerrica Spellman, who was living with him, and her children in a shocking incident on Wednesday, July 17.
Jackson was charged with four counts of murder.
He is believed to be the father of the children—3-year-old boy King Jackson, 1-year-old girl Kensley Jackson, and 1-month-old girl Kristen Jackson—as they shared his last name, according to the authorities.
The authorities have also discovered a weapon that was used in the murders. All four victims had been stabbed, although the cause of death is not clear, Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. The autopsies are still being conducted in Atlanta.
(Jerrica Spellman/facebook)
The four bodies were found after a worried family member called the police and Jackson was soon arrested, Columbus Police Chief Ricky Boren said at a news conference.
“There had been an ongoing domestic violence relationship between herself and our suspect,” the police chief said. Jackson had been arrested in a domestic violence incident with the same victim in 2017.
“It’s a tragic situation,” Bryan told the newspaper. "One of the most brutal that I have seen in my seven years as coroner.”
Friends and family of Spellman are mourning her death. They say she was a good mother.
Chanel, a friend of hers who did not want her full name revealed, said that she was full of love and life. The two have been friends for over a decade. "I still really am feeling like it’s not happening,” she told the Enquirer. “She didn’t deserve that at all. She didn’t do wrong to people; she always wanted to see people in good moods. If you were in a bad mood she’d try to do something funny or say something to make you laugh.”
She added that her children had always been "priority number one" for Spellman.
“I want people to know she was a really great mother, she was a great friend and a lot of people love her and are really going to miss her. This isn’t someone who everybody hated; everybody loves her," she said.
Jackson's first court appearance was scheduled for Saturday, though the police chief said it would likely be rescheduled to July 26 at Recorder's Court.