An Indianapolis, Indiana woman will spend the next 20 years of her life in prison for her role in the death of a former Jacksonville resident.
27 year old Britney Overton was sentenced to 20 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on Thursday after she pleaded guilty o a charge of robbery resulting in a serious bodily injury on May 19th in connection to the murder of 23 year old Alexander D. Jackson, formerly of Jacksonville.
Jackson’s body was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in a wooded area in the 11000 block Mann Road in rural Mooresville, Indiana on September 13, 2019. Overton and Blake were arrested in connection with Jackson’s death in October 2020 following 11 months of investigation after authorities determined that Blake pulled the trigger while Overton was present. Investigators discovered that Blake had confessed to the crime to a family member. Overton initially denied her involvement, but investigators were able to pin her to the scene of the crime after DNA was lifted from a set of keys that belonged to Jackson’s rental car
According to court testimony given by Overton, Jackson, Overton and Blake had gone on a small crime spree together and were driving Jackson’s rental car on September 9, 2019. At one point, Blake told Overton to stop the car in a wooded area, where Blake, Jackson and an individual named “K.J.” exited. Overton told the Morgan County, Indiana court that Blake shot Jackson because Blake believed Jackson would “snitch” to police. Overton heard Jackson scream and several gunshots in succession, according to a WTHR report.
According to charging documents in the case, Overton reportedly tried to get a gun a few days before Jackson’s death, and she removed him as a friend on Facebook minutes after police believe he was killed. Morgan County Chief Prosecutor Steve Sonnega later told WLDS News that his office didn’t believe that Overton was the person who pulled the trigger.
Blake was sentenced in April to 61 years behind bars on charges of murder and robbery. As part of her plea agreement and in exchange for her testimony during Blake’s trial, the murder charge against her was dropped.
The Reporter Times reports that several members of Jackson’s family delivered victim impact statements on Thursday prior to Overton’s sentencing.
Overton was given 820 days of credit for time served and had court costs waived.