A Twin Cities man has slipped free of the intensive supervised release that was part of his murder sentence for the beating death of his 15-month-old daughter, state corrections officials disclosed.
Beauford C. Jackson III, 29, has been considered a fugitive by the state Department of Corrections since Thursday.
Jackson, of St. Paul, was charged in February 2007 with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty that summer and was sentenced to 13 ¾-year term for the killing of Destiny Jackson.
He was imprisoned until May 2016, then went on supervised release and was living in Fort Worth, Texas, "at the time of his absconding, and failed to report to his [probation] agent," said Minnesota Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sarah Fitzgerald.
Jackson was allowed to be outside of Minnesota under the interstate compact, under which "offenders can be transferred between states for supervision."
Destiny had been returned to her teenage parents, Maeve Clifford and Jackson, two weeks before she was beaten to death. She'd been placed in foster care Dec. 19 after suffering a skull fracture while in her father's care three days earlier.
The plea agreement was reached after the Ramsey County attorney's office decided it would be a difficult case to prosecute. If convicted at trial, Jackson would have faced more time in prison.
Jackson said during sentencing that Destiny had started crying and threw up in bed before he struck her repeatedly in the neck and abdomen, causing her to bleed to death.
There is a felony warrant for his arrest. The public should not attempt to confront him. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the Department of Corrections' Fugitive Hotline at 651-603-0026.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
