Family remembers victim at murder sentencing
Nov. 23—The family of a slain St. Joseph resident spoke out in court today after a man was sentenced to 20 years for the murder.
Tucker James Autenrieth, 25, was sentenced Tuesday at the Buchanan County Courthouse for the second-degree murder of Santos Jackson.
The feeling of loss for Jackson's family has been heightened by the nature of his death, Jackson's aunt, Angelia Hare, said.
"You took away a life," she said. "For me, there's nothing that anyone could say to make me feel OK with the outcome."
Autenrieth pleaded guilty to the murder charges in October, which were for the killing of Jackson on Aug. 16, 2021, in the 700 block of North Ninth Street, according to court documents.
Autenrieth was arrested Aug. 18, 2021, after St. Joseph police found Jackson's body at a house listed as Autenrieth's residence. Officers originally were called to the residence for a check well-being call, where they found blood and cleaning supplies, then after returning with a search warrant found Jackson's body with a gunshot wound to the head, according to the case's probable cause statement.
There originally was a weapons charge in addition to the murder charge, but that was dropped as part of the plea deal, Buchanan County Prosecutor Ron Holliday said. Autenrieth was charged with second-degree instead of first-degree murder since it was not believed that the act was premeditated, Holliday said.
Offering a plea deal stopped the case from dragging out for Jackson's family, Holliday said.
"The state felt that under all the facts and circumstances of the case, that a plea agreement of no more than 20 years was appropriate if he pled guilty, admitted his guilt and saved the family from the trauma of a three- or four-day trial," he said. "And that's what happened."
Several of Jackson's family members attested to being tight-knit as a family, and the victim's daughter, Mashaia Cook, said her relationship with Jackson was in a good place before he was killed.
"Before this tragedy happened — two weeks prior — I had started my first job," she said. "He had told me he was proud of me ... Before he passed, me and him finally got into a good relationship."
Being able to handle the tragedy to the point where they could make personal statements is a significant step for a family coping with such a devastating loss, Holliday said.
"We had five family members that stood up," he said. "That's hard for family members, to speak about the loss of a loved one, and I thought they did a great job of explaining the emotional impact of a death like this. A murder."
Autenrieth has to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Alex Simone can be reached at alex.simone@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NPNOWSimone.
