Naman Shrestha
In ABC’s ‘Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit,’ the primary focus is on the sudden disappearance of a 27-year-old news anchor named Jodi Sue Huisentruit in Mason City, Iowa, in the summer of 1995. The investigation led the authorities to several persons of interest, one of them being Tony Jackson, a serial rapist responsible for sexually assaulting multiple women in Minnesota and Iowa around the same time. The three-part documentary series also features the perpetrator, who talks about the allegations against him.
Tony Jackson Resided Near Jodi Huisentruit at the Time of Her Disappearance
Born on January 26, 1974, Tony Dejuan Jackson used to reside in Mason City, Iowa, just a couple of blocks away from the famed news anchor, Jodi Sue Huisentruit, who disappeared on June 27, 1995. A couple of years later, he became a person of interest in the eyes of the law, given his involvement in a series of unrelated violent rapes that he had committed in and around the Twin Cities. On May 8, 1997, Tony reportedly entered a woman’s house and sexually assaulted her. Due to the recollection of the memory of his voice, the survivor managed to pick him out of a videotape lineup.
Eleven days after the crime, Tony was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of first-degree burglary. At the time of his arrest, he possessed a large knife, rope, a mask, a 9mm handgun, handcuff keys, a roll of duct tape, and other suspicious items, tying him to the crime. On top of that, semen stains found on the survivor’s sheets were consistent with Tony’s DNA sample. Apart from being linked to a total of six rapes in Minnesota and Iowa, he was also tied to the disappearance of Jodi, primarily because of his close proximity to her house in Mason City, Iowa.
Tony Jackson is Currently Incarcerated For Multiple Sexual Assault Convictions
In 1997, while Tony Jackson was awaiting his trial, a jailhouse informant named Dennis Goff told the authorities that he had admitted to abducting and killing Jodi Huisentruit. Dennis also alleged that Tony recited a rap song whose lyrics could lead to the burial site of Jodi’s remains. This led the police to dig up an area of a silo in Tiffin, Iowa, with cadaver dogs in 1998. Meanwhile, Tony denied the accusations and claimed that he had never been to Tiffin. He stated, “I would imagine that Tiffin, Iowa, is pretty much kinda like all of the other small towns in Iowa. That if a Black male introduced himself in Tiffin, Iowa, somebody would remember that.” However, the search didn’t lead to any sign of human remains in the area.
As per reports, Tony had also purchased a car just the day before the news anchor went missing. However, as his DNA did not match any evidence from the crime scene, he was ruled out as a suspect or a person of interest in the disappearance case of Jodi in 1999. During the trial, he claimed that he was with his girlfriend at the time of the murder. However, the evidence presented by the prosecution was overwhelming and enough for the jury to find him guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, and first-degree burglary.
Tony was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for his crimes in the Minneapolis area. Despite that, he has continued to be linked to the kidnapping and murder of Jodi for more than two decades. From his prison facility, he stated, “All that I can tell you about Jodi Huisentruit is that she has become a central part of my life since I’ve been incarcerated. It’s been something that I’ve been, for many years, hoping will be resolved so that that stigma can be taken away from me so that I can rest.” Maintaining his innocence in Jodi’s disappearance to date, Tony Jackson is serving his sentence at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater in Bayport, Minnesota.
Read More: Brad Millerbernd: Where is the Person of Interest Now?
