A Missouri man has been arrested after allegedly shooting his more accomplished brother in the back of the head following an argument “over a girl.”
According to court records, Jacob Ackerman, 43, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Cops in Sugar Creek, a suburb of Kansas City, began investigating around 10 p.m. Saturday after the victim’s family noticed he had not moved in seven hours, according to a probable cause statement. According to the affidavit, the family used the Life360 app to track down his last known location near Highway M-291 and Highway 210.
The family member then gave cops a more precise location: the northeast corner of a nearby pond. Officers went to the area and discovered the victim’s body. He was lying on the pond’s bank, with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
Relatives who called police said they believed Ackerman was responsible for his brother’s death. According to the probable cause statement, the victim’s relatives called the medical examiner’s office and spoke with an investigator, who informed detectives that “while on the phone with the relative, an unknown individual could be heard in the background stating the incident was a ‘Cain and Abel’ situation.”
Ackerman’s relatives stated that his mental health had recently deteriorated and that he had been “jealous of the victim for most of his life due to the victim being successful,” while Ackerman struggled. They also informed detectives that they saw the victim’s Mercedes in Ackerman’s driveway.
Police arrested Ackerman at a McDonald’s in Kansas City early Sunday morning. After being detained, a relative asked him why he killed his brother, and he replied with a “blank stare on his face,” according to the affidavit.
According to detectives, the victim took a selfie photo with himself and Ackerman at the exact location where his body was discovered.
According to the affidavit, investigators also obtained surveillance video from a nearby gas station, which showed Ackerman and his brother arriving in the victim’s Mercedes.
Following his Miranda warnings, Ackerman initially claimed he had no knowledge of his brother’s location. When he was told that the situation appeared bad, he allegedly said, “If it looks bad, it is bad.”
When detectives asked if they could search Ackerman’s house, he allegedly told them, “You are going to do what you are going to do.”
However, Ackerman eventually confessed, police said.
“During the interview Jacob admitted to standing behind the victim and shooting him in the head,” the detectives said. “When asked why he shot the victim Jacob indicated he and the victim and gotten into an argument over a girl.”
Ackerman also claimed that he hid the murder weapon in an attic crawl space.
Ackerman was arrested and taken to the Jackson County Jail, where he is currently being held on $300,000 cash bail. Police have not released the victim’s name.
