JESUP, Ga. – A heartbroken family in Jesup is mourning the tragic death of a beloved daughter and wife after her body was discovered on a local road several months ago.
On March 27, 23-year-old Ma ‘Kiyah Jackson was found at the intersection of Highway 27 and Highway 169. She was rushed to the hospital but, unfortunately, succumbed to her injuries.
Initially, the Jesup Police Department suspected that Jackson had been hit by a vehicle. However, as the investigation progressed, authorities began to suspect she may have been the victim of an assault.
Jackson’s family recently opened up about their loss and recounted the devastating moment they learned of the incident.
“I refuse to let her case become a cold case,” said Sharetta Cortland, Jackson’s mother. “It shouldn’t and doesn’t have to remain unsolved.”
Jackson was visiting the area she grew up in and was seeing friends, Cortland said. Courtland and Jackson were on the phone with each other moments before the incident occurred.
“She asked me, ‘Can you stay on the phone with me,’” Cortland siad. “I said, ‘Yeah I’ll stay on the phone with you.’ She hung up on me and that was it.”
Cortland later got a message from Jackson’s wife, Kayonna Smith, who is stationed in New York. The messaged shared that she saw Jackson’s location not moving and staying in the same spot.
“She was never hit by a car,” Smith said. “For her injuries, she had severe head trauma, a broken socket, eye socket and a broken nose. She was, she’s a tiny, she’s a tiny little thing. So, like, if she did get hit by a car, she would have had bruises in other places like broken bones and anything like that. She was found in the road.”
Her family said they believe that someone out there knows something or saw something. They remember who Jackson was and they continue to search for answers.
“I had 23 years with Ma ‘Kiyah, so it hurts more because every day, I talked to her every day,” Cortland said. “Now I can’t talk to her. Imagine how that feels to not be able and do what I’m used to doing, picking up the phone and talking to my kids.
Smith said, “She loved to dance. She loved music. She loved kids and she loved animals. She was just very spiritual. She was just such a sweet person.”
A rally will be held to honor Jackson’s life on June 13. The event will be at Mc Millan Park, in Jesup at 6:30 p.m.
If you have any information about what occurred on March 27, you are asked to contact the Jesup Police Department.