Former EKU professor sentenced to 14 years in his wife’s death
A former Eastern Kentucky University professor charged with killing his wife, Ella Jackson, in 2019 was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in prison.
He could be released from prison in less than eight years because of receiving credit for time served.
Glenn Jackson, 45, entered an Alford plea in his wife’s death, meaning he does not admit his guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction if the case were to proceed to trial.
He was initially charged with murder, but just days before his trial was scheduled to begin this year, he took an Alford plea on reduced charges of manslaughter, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
In addition to the prison sentence, he may have to pay Ella Jackson’s family a not-yet-determined amount in restitution. He was taken into custody Tuesday.
Ella Jackson’s former husband, Jason Hans, previously said he filed mixed emotions about the resolution.
Hans said the deal was Jackson’s right, but was “absolutely not justice.” He expressed thanks to the prosecutors who he said had been thoughtful throughout the process.
“After surviving so much, her final betrayal came not from a stranger, but a man she should have felt safest with, in a place she should have felt safest,” Hans said Tuesday.
At the beginning of Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutor Jennifer Smith said she agreed the resolution was not truly justice.
“This was a circumstantial case, and a well-investigated case,” Smith said in the courtroom. “There are always questions that the Commonwealth couldn’t answer, and the defendant won’t answer. I never knew Ella, but I’ve gotten to know certain things about Ella, and I know the most important things to her are her two sons.”
Jackson was originally charged with his wife’s killing in April 2020, and he has been free on home incarceration since that same year, when he was released on a reduced, $150,000 bond.
Jackson did not speak at the sentencing, but his attorney, Tom Lyons, said while he believes the sentence is fair, he understands the family’s unhappiness.
“A woman lost her life and two sons lost their mother,” Lyons told the Herald-Leader.
What happened to Ella Jackson?
Ella Jackson, 47, was reported missing in October 2019 by her oldest son, Phillip Hans. Hans told police he spoke with his mother frequently, and when he didn’t hear from her, he became worried.
Early in the investigation, Glenn Jackson told detectives varying stories about where his wife might have gone. He originally called police and reported his wife of about six years may have abandoned their son. He also told police she would routinely disappear and later return.
Police found Ella Jackson’s phone, wallet, car and then 5-year-old son at her home on Westwood Drive.
In April 2020, Glenn Jackson was charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse after a significant amount of his wife’s blood was discovered in the trunk of his vehicle.
Investigators used luminol, a chemical that illuminates when it comes in contact with substances like blood, to find an approximately 2-foot in diameter stain, according to previous detective testimony. A knife, which also reacted to luminol, was also found in the trunk, police said.
A week after Glenn Jackson’s arrest, his wife’s skeletal remains were found in Pulaski County on property neighboring one he owns, along with women’s clothing strewn around, according to Richmond police.
A medical examiner ruled Ella Jackson’s death a homicide but could not determine a cause of death due to the state of her remains. However, the examiner noted a “significant fracture to the skull,” prosecutors said.
Glenn Jackson was employed by EKU as a lecturer at the time of his wife’s disappearance, but he fired in February 2020, before his arrest, according to documents obtained by the Herald-Leader.
During the course of the investigation, Richmond police discovered Ella Jackson met with a domestic violence advocate a few days before her disappearance and had spoken with a divorce attorney.
Now that Glenn Jackson has entered a plea, a wrongful death suit previously filed by Hans can proceed.
Hans can also move forward with becoming the legal guardian of Ella and Glenn Jackson’s almost-12-year-old son.
Ella’s sons speak at sentencing
Ella’s two sons spoke at the hearing and shared the impact that their mother’s death had on their life.
Phillip Hans, Ella Jackson’s oldest son, said she was his best friend and advisor. He described his mother as having “unconditional empathy” with her children being the “most important things in her life.”
“She raised me as a single mother, but I was never lacking,” Phillip Hans said. He said she helped with mechanics, chemistry and motorcyles.
“And just like that, it was over for life. Every day since then has felt surreal. And I am saddened my brother won’t experience our mother the same way I did.”
Although he was not present in the courtroom, Ella Jackson’s minor son — whom she shared with Glenn Jackson — gave a victim’s impact statement by a pre-recorded statement.
The son described the turmoil he remembered between his mom and Glenn Jackson, and said his mother deserved peace, safety, living without stress and fear.
He said he was two months into kindergarten when his mom disappeared, and Glenn Jackson told him that his mother abandoned him, which he said was especially cruel.
“It is painful to know that I am connected by blood to someone capable of that type of cruelty,” the child said.
Because Glenn Jackson was not in jail, the child said to protect his safety, he was not pictured in yearbooks, and his name was left out of announcements for when he won the science fair or other accolades.
He said his favorite memories of his mother are the borcsht and elaborate cakes she would make.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 11:52 AM.
