Kimi and John Jackson both grew up in Elkhart, Indiana. It’s where they met as freshmen in high school and dated off and on. “We just say that in ‘98 it stuck,” Kimi told Dateline. “And we’ve been together ever since.”
John works for the city as a laborer, and Kimi owns a hair salon. John describes Elkhart as the “RV capital of the world,” as the industry provides many jobs for Elkhart residents. The city sits about 20 minutes east of the University of Notre Dame.
“It was kind of a small-town feel when we were growing up, you know, the kind of thing when you don’t have to lock your doors and you’re not afraid,” Kimi said. But as time went on, she says that started to change.
In August 2012, there was a string of break-ins in the Jacksons’ neighborhood. Then, on Friday, August 17, the unthinkable happened.
John stayed home that Friday night to take care of the couple’s 7-month-old son, John Jr., while Kimi and their 7-year-old daughter, Kristyana, went to a football game. Kimi says when they got home, Kristyana hopped out of the car to run inside and see her dad and little brother. Just as Kimi was opening the screen door and grabbing her keys, a group of men came from around the side of the house. One grabbed Kimi, another grabbed Kristyana.
“I heard her scream, and out of instinct I jumped up and ran to the door,” John said. “As soon as I opened the door, they started shooting.”
John told Dateline his focus was on saving his wife and daughter. “I was trying to make my way to Kristyana, and he just kept shooting,” John said. “When I got shot multiple times, pretty much all hell broke loose.”
Kristyana had been standing between her father and one of the shooters. John was shot twice in the back and once in the shoulder. The men took off on foot. John grabbed Kristyana and pulled her inside, as Kimi called 911. She remembers looking over and seeing John’s white T-shirt begin to stain red.
“John brought [Kristyana] into the living room, and that’s when he realized she had been shot in the head,” Kimi said. “I knew he was shot because he had on a white T-shirt — and all I could see was red.”
“I ended up getting to our front door and started screaming for help,” John said. “I just screamed, ‘Somebody shot my baby. Somebody shot my baby.’”
A neighbor who heard the screams was a former army medic. He came running to the Jacksons’ house and began applying pressure to Kristyana’s wounds. “I was in shock and panic looking at her on the floor, bleeding and gasping for air,” Kimi said. “I couldn’t believe this was happening to us.”
When the paramedics arrived, the Jacksons directed them to Kristyana first. Kristyana was then taken to South Bend Memorial Hospital because it was a better-equipped trauma center than the one closer to the home. John was put in a separate ambulance and taken to Elkhart General Hospital. “They got me checked out as quick as they could, and I kept telling them that I needed to get wherever they took my baby,” John remembered.
Kristyana underwent surgery to try to release pressure that had been building on her brain from the gunshot. She remained in intensive care for two days, where she ultimately died from her injuries.
John and Kimi decided to donate Kristyana’s kidneys and liver. John was not an organ donor, but he and Kimi thought it was what Kristyana would have wanted. “I just think if she was an adult, she would want to be an organ donor,” John said. “It felt like the right thing to do because that’s something she would do.”
Two months after his daughter’s death, John had to renew his driver’s license. “He came out with the biggest smile — and showed me he’s now an organ donor,” Kimi said.
Kimi says she was questioned briefly by police on the day of the shooting, but she quickly rushed to be by her daughter’s side at the hospital. The couple says they were asked by police to come in to be interviewed about what happened and were spoken to separately. John says the police also took his phone for a week to search through it before returning it to him.
“I just really couldn’t figure it out,” John said of the shooting. “We just work and take care of our kids. We didn’t burn any bridges or have any enemies.”
Dateline spoke with Vicki Becker, the prosecuting attorney in Elkhart, who confirmed Kristyana’s case is still open but would not answer additional questions to protect the integrity of the case. Dateline also reached out to the Elkhart Police Department for comment, but has not yet received a response.
Kristyana’s memory still fills the Jacksons’ home, whether it be in their conversations, with photos, videos, or the stories they tell. “I just tried to move on to a more positive memory instead of a negative,” Kimi said. “It’s not going to change the outcome if we keep driving ourselves crazy, so we just honor her.”
John has two children from a previous relationship, but Kristyana was Kimi’s firstborn. “It took me five years to get pregnant with her. She was just an angel to me from the very beginning,” Kimi said.
“She almost just seemed older than what she really was,” John said. “She was an old soul.”
Kristyana received a “no bully zone” award from her school when she stepped in to help a younger student who was being picked on. “If a perfect child existed, I believe that was her,” Kimi said. “I’m not just saying that because she was my daughter, but she was pretty perfect.”
The Jacksons still live in the same home in Elkhart.
“For a long time, walking up to the door, I would look left and right, probably a hundred times before coming into the house,” Kimi said. “Her whole life is in this house, and there’s more positive memories of her in this house than that one night, and I’m not going to let them steal my joy.”
It’s been 13 years since Kristyana was shot. John and Kimi are hoping that anyone with information comes forward.
“We’ve just been living in limbo,” John said. “We are still those parents that want to know who murdered their 7-year-old daughter and tried to murder her father. There’s nothing else we can do besides keep her name out there, and maybe somebody will say something sooner or later.”
If you have any information about Kristyana’s homicide, please contact the Elkhart County Homicide Unit at 574-295-2825.
You can also contact the Michiana Crime Stoppers with information at 574-288-STOP.
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