Doctor’s ex-wife accused of planning his shooting death, staging it as home invasion
06/22/2023 12:27 pm PDT
NORTH BEND, Oreg. (TCD) -- Following an extensive nationwide search, U.S. Marshals have arrested a doctor’s ex-wife in Atlanta on charges related to allegedly planning his death and staging it as a home invasion in 2021.
Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said a jury returned a secret indictment May 24, charging Reina Gabriela Jackson, aka Reina Gabriela Matute-Ruana, with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder in connection with Craig Jackson’s homicidal death. A nationwide arrest warrant was then issued.
According to a news release from the North Bend Police Department, on Aug. 2, 2021, shortly before 3:30 a.m., officers responded to a home on Stanton Avenue for a medical emergency and found Craig Jackson, a physician at Bay Clinic in Coos Bay, deceased from apparent "homicidal violence."
Jackson sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head, KEZI-TV reports. Frasier reportedly called the incident a "targeted home invasion."
Jackson’s spouse, who initially identified herself as Yen Zhou, reportedly told police that "two unknown males entered the home and engaged in a physical confrontation with Dr. Jackson, resulting in his death."
Police said Jackson’s wife told officials they fled the scene following the interaction. However, authorities were unable to identify any suspects.
Reina Jackson later moved back to her home country of Guatemala, and investigators asked U.S. Marshals to assist with the search. Nearly two years after Craig Jackson’s death, on the evening of June 14, U.S. Marshals located and arrested Reina Jackson in Atlanta. She was reportedly "unaware of the arrest warrant" and was taken into custody when she "decided to return to the United States for some reason."
Officials also arrested Jackson on a warrant out of Coos County alleging she had "violated her probation by absconding from supervision."
Frasier said Jackson is being held in Atlanta and he expects she will be extradited back to Coos County.
In a statement obtained by KEZI, Frasier said, "This is the first case where I had someone flee the country. I’ve had cases where defendants have fled to other states, but I’ve never had one that fled the country. So this is a first for us all the way around. I don’t know exactly why she decided to come back, but she did, and when the Marshals became aware she was in Atlanta, they went and picked her up."
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