By Ivan Pereira
A Jamaica man has been ordered held in prison without bail for allegedly suffocating his grandmother to death in her home last week, the Queens district attorney said.
Christopher Jackson, 26, was arraigned on second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence charges April 13, a day after he was picked up by detectives in the 103rd Precinct, Queens DA Richard Brown said.
Jackson is charged with murdering his 62-year-old grandmother, Rosemary Little, who raised him for most of his life in her house, after they got into an argument, according to Brown.
“The defendant is accused of mindlessly killing a woman who apparently devoted much of her life to caring for him. This is a sad case in which a vibrant woman’s life was allegedly taken far too soon by a young man who in the process ended up throwing away the rest of his own life,” he said in a statement.
Little and Jackson got into a verbal argument around 7:45 p.m. April 11 in the hallway near the bedroom of the first floor of the residence and it escalated quickly, the DA said. Jackson allegedly stuffed a T-shirt into her mouth and wrapped a rubber band across her neck to keep her quiet, according to Brown.
After she died, he bound her wrists with duct tape, wrapped her in a blanket and stuffed her body into a storage space in the basement of the residence, the DA said.
Police were called to the scene within an hour and took Jackson in for questioning the next morning.
The city medical examiner’s office said Little’s death was caused by a compression of the neck and obstruction of the airway, Brown said.
A Queens Criminal Court judge ordered Jackson to be held without bail and required him to return to court April 27, according to Brown.
If convicted of his charges, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison, the DA said.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
