A young woman from Guyana, Denita Jackson, has been charged with second-degree murder following the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend, Kevaughn Goldson, a fellow student-athlete at Lincoln University. Reports from ABC 17 News indicate that Jackson, a senior sprinter whose hometown is listed as Berbice, was charged by Cole County prosecutors on Monday.
The victim, identified as 23-year-old Kevaughn Goldson, is a Jamaican national and also a senior sprinter on the university’s track and field team, according to athletic records.
Court documents reveal that Jackson and Goldson had a romantic relationship that was reportedly marred by a history of domestic violence. The incident that led to the tragic outcome stemmed from an argument over a missing bottle of cologne. Jackson expressed suspicions that Goldson was having an affair with one of her roommates.
Investigators report that Jackson left for work late Sunday night but returned home early after feeling unwell. Upon her return around 1 a.m. Monday, she discovered that Goldson, who had been in her bedroom before she left, was not there. She heard a roommate speaking with someone behind a locked door. Jackson allegedly used a hairclip to unlock the door and found Goldson and the roommate in bed, fully clothed, accompanied by the missing bottle of cologne.
According to the police, Jackson admitted to jumping onto the bed, grabbing the cologne bottle and Goldson’s shirt, which triggered a physical confrontation. Jackson claimed that Goldson kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fall, and then got on top of her and began choking her.
In response to the escalating situation, Jackson stated that she retrieved a knife from under the roommate’s bed and stabbed Goldson in the back and chest during the struggle. After the incident, she called 911 to report the stabbing.
Goldson was initially taken to Capital Region Medical Center and later airlifted to University Hospital, where he died during surgery.
Jackson has been arrested and booked into the Cole County Jail, and the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident remains ongoing.
