Some stories are better left for the screens but life is almost always tragic and the things we dread most can happen in extremely heartbreaking ways, beyond our wildest imagination. That’s the case for Noura Jackson who lost her mom in a gruesome murder; she was stabbed 50 times and Noura was held responsible for the crime. She was locked up for over a decade but eventually regained her freedom, here’s her story.
5 Facts That Sums Up Noura Jackson’s Life
1. She Hails From a Broken Home
Her mother Jennifer Jackson divorced her father Nazmi Hassanieh when she was still a baby. Noura had a step-dad as Jennifer married for a second time when her daughter was in elementary school. It was an abusive marriage that ended in divorce in 2001. From what we learned, Jennifer’s second husband brought a gun to the divorce negotiation.
Noura’s mom had quite a lot of troubled relationships with men and was fond of picking up strangers from bars at some point. It has been suggested that her volatile relationships with men may have had something to do with her death.
2. Her Dad Was Murdered In January 2004
Noura Jackson grew up without having her father around, they lost touch after he parted ways with her mother and it was not until she was 16 that they reunited. Thereafter, Nazmi Hassanieh looked out for his daughter until his death. The man was a former Lebanese Army captain who owned and operated a gas station convenience where he was shot and killed in Memphis.
While his murder remains unsolved, it has been wondered if it has something to do with the death of his ex-wife Jennifer Jackson in June the following year. Speculations have it that Nazmi’s limousine service that catered to the transportation needs of clients who frequented a strip club near his station, had compromising videos of some of the clients.
His murderer left his place ransacked and as this was also the case with Jennifer’s death, it has been put forward that Noura’s parents may have been killed by someone who wanted to retrieve something in Nazmi’s possession. This makes much sense if one regards the fact that Jennifer packed up Hassanieh’s belongings from the station for her daughter.
3. Noura Jackson Was Convicted for Killing Her Mom
The older woman aged 39 was stabbed to death 50 times on the 5th of June 2005. According to Noura, she discovered her mom’s lifeless body covered in blood at about 5 a.m. She ran to a neighbor for help and called 911 thereafter. Nonetheless, she was convicted of killing her mother. Amy Weirich was the prosecutor in charge of the case. She went for a life sentence, contending that Noura was a wayward child who murdered her mom to inherit her estate valued at $1.5 million.
Adding that Noura and Jennifer fought over selling some of the cars she inherited from her dad, the prosecutor built a case that revolved around Noura getting rid of her mom who wouldn’t indulge in her wild lifestyle so that she can get all the money she wants for partying and drugs.
Awaiting trial, Noura Jackson spent three and a half years in jail as she couldn’t afford the bond set at $500,000. Her mother’s siblings sued her for the value of Jennifer’s estate, and insurance policy, and even testified against her in court. Ultimately, she was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years and nine-month in prison. This was in March 2009 and Noura was only 22 years old.
4. Her Conviction Was Overturned In August 2014
Even as Noura Jackson maintained that she had nothing to do with the death of her mom, she was whisked away to prison after she was declared guilty of second-degree murder. But as fate would have it, the defense attorney Valerie Corder kept up the fight to prove Noura’s innocence. A new piece of evidence was discovered and with that, she appealed the conviction and eventually got the Tennessee Supreme Court to overturn the judgment.
While the court pointed out that the prosecutors withheld evidence that would have exonerated Noura, it upheld that there was a prosecution error as the DNA evidence only indicated the blood of unknown persons at the crime scene with nothing that linked Noura to the crime.
Although her conviction was overturned, she was still charged with murder and remained in jail waiting for a new trial. But then, her lawyer and the prosecutors pulled off a deal that had Noura sign the Alford plea. She would later regret this as it was a guilty plea; one that allowed her to regain her freedom but still implied she is somewhat responsible for her mother’s death. She practically gave up a chance for exoneration and shut the door on efforts that would have been made by the police to find who truly murdered her mother, the case was effectively closed.
See Also: Richard Gaikowski – 10 Facts About The Man Suspected To Be The Zodiac Killer
5. She’s Now Striving to Live a Normal Life
Sometime in August 2016, Noura Jackson was released from prison; this was 15 months after she signed the Alford guilty plea. She was picked up by her mother’s friend Ansley Larsson who took her in. She would later relocate to Nashville where she and her girlfriend, an ex-felon she met in prison are working towards building a life together. From what we gathered, Noura works for an auto-body shop as a receptionist.
