'Justice will prevail,' aunt of Saddle Lake homicide victim says after arrests
An Edmonton woman says she begged one of the co-accused charged with her niece's death to tell police what she knows.
Jena Lynn Hunter, 26 and Jermaine Eugene Steinhauer, 23, have been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Lindsay Jackson, whose body was pulled from the North Saskatchewan River east of Edmonton in October.
In an emotional video posted to social media on Saturday, Andrea Jackson informed friends and family about the arrests, which came almost three months after her niece went missing.
"I'm crying some happy tears," Jackson said on the video she posted. "When I got that call [from police] … I thought, 'Oh, my God, this is happening, it's finally happening.' "
After Hunter was arrested, Jackson said, police asked her and Lindsay's brother to make a "plea video," which she talked about in another video she posted to social media.
"I can't place judgment, I can't hate, because that's too much for me to carry," Jackson said on social media. "So what I told Jena in my video last night was basically begging her, begging her, to just come clean with the rest of what happened."
Watch: Andrea Jackson describes a 'plea video' she made for a suspect charged in her niece's death.
A day later, Jackson said she received another another call from RCMP, who told her they had arrested Steinhauer.
"It makes me feel good, because justice will prevail," she said.
Lindsay Jackson was first reported missing on Sept. 22. She was last seen at a residence in her home community of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, 180 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
RCMP issued a missing person report. An outpouring on social media from loved ones and strangers called for justice for Jackson.
Her body was found on Oct. 3.
Previous robbery, firearm charges
Hunter has no previous criminal record. Steinhauer was facing charges of robbery with a firearm, with a trial scheduled for June.
He has previously served short jail sentences for various offences, including dangerous driving, failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm, obstruction of a peace officer and possession of a controlled substance.
Lindsay Jackson had a large family that includes her parents, her brothers and her four children.
"And every time I look at baby girl it's like looking at Lindsay all over again," Andrea Jackson said tearfully in her video.
"I know that we're supposed to put pictures away and not supposed to speak of them — the ones we've lost. But I can't do that. I have to go against what we believe in because her babies are so small. They're so young. And I want to keep her memory alive within her kids. And I want to instill in her kids that their mom loved them."
The Jackson family was already grieving several recent deaths, according to her obituary. At age 25, she had already buried her husband and two brothers, among other family members.
Hunter and Steinhauer remain in custody. Their next court appearance in St. Paul Provincial Court is scheduled for Thursday.
