One charged with murder of Keeshanna Jackson – KBSI Fox 23 Cape Girardeau News

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KBSI) – On Wednesday, authorities in Carbondale announced a breakthrough in the murder of an SIU student. Keeshanna Jackson was a young woman with a long life ahead of her. Her family says she wanted to study business and dreamed of owning her own nail salon.

Her mother, Arielle White, says she had a beautiful dream and a beautiful soul, but her life was too short.

“It’s heartbreaking,” White said.

In the early morning hours of August 22, 2021, Keeshanna was gunned down on Cherry Street in Carbondale.

Jackson was one of four people hit by a volley of bullets. She was found injured in the yard near where a party was taking place and later died in hospital.

White says her life as she knew it changed forever the day she lost her young daughter.

“I'm not here,” she said. “I just go to work every day. I have two or three jobs just to keep myself from thinking about other things.”

She says she has had a message ready for her daughter's killer for a long time.

“Put down the gun because you are breaking a lot of people’s hearts,” she said.

Now she and others who cared about Keeshanna may have the chance to deliver that message.

On Wednesday morning, after nearly three years of searching for clues, offering rewards and rallying the community through candlelight vigils, authorities announced a major breakthrough in the case. Prosecutors announced they were formally charging 22-year-old Keavonte Nesby with two counts of first-degree murder.

Jackson County District Attorney Joe Cervantez believes Nesby was part of one of two rival groups fighting each other at the time.

“Since the shooting, several people associated with these groups have been arrested,” Cervantez said.

Cervantez says he is convinced that Nesby was the one who fired the fatal shot at Keeshanna.

“In cases as serious as these, we usually use a lot of evidence, and it is usually complex,” he said. “In complex cases, there is always a lot of evidence.”

As for the motive, he says it will probably come to light as the investigation progresses, and the reasons are often trivial.

“We want to make sure that we send the message that if something like this happens to one of our community members or one of our university students, we will act as quickly as possible and let parents know that this is a safe place to raise their children,” Cervantez said.

SIU President Dan Mahony also says new developments in the case have sent a wave of relief across campus.

“A lot of people are concerned about the uncertainty of who is responsible,” Mahony said.

He says campus police have worked with local and state police, prosecutors and the FBI to bring those involved in this and other gun violence cases to justice. He says his heart breaks for the family.

“We hope this will give them some relief after everything they've been through, but we know it can never replace them,” he said.

Now Keeshanna's mother and aunt say they often dream of the successful young woman she could have been today.

“She could do anything she set her mind to, she was outgoing and self-motivated,” recalls Aunt KeChell White.

The family would like to say “thank you” to the investigators.

“It makes a big difference to us whether we actually get justice or whether we have to keep wondering if the killer is out there,” KeChell said.

“There is still a long way to go,” said Arielle White.

Nesby is due back in court on September 14.

He had previously been taken to the Department of Corrections for an unrelated shooting.