Speaker
Blayne Alexander
Appearances over time
1 episodes
Episodes
1
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Glenn Jackson called 911 to report his wife Ella missing but explicitly said it was not an emergency and that he personally didn't think anything was wrong.
Philip, Ella's adult son, made a second 911 call approximately 24 hours after Glenn's first call, urging police to investigate because the disappearance was out of character for his mother.
Jason Hans' first wife, Irina Hans, was shot and killed near a DC metro station over 20 years ago and the case remains unsolved to this day.
Irina Hans was killed during the DC sniper investigation in 2002, leading detectives to initially wonder if she was a sniper victim before ruling it out.
Ella Jackson secretly recorded close to 70 interactions with her husband Glenn as she tried to build a case to safely leave him while protecting custody of her son Alex.
Glenn Jackson made bond on murder charges and was placed on house arrest for five years before trial — an arrangement his neighbors, including Ella's friend JoLynn, found deeply unsettling.
Glenn Jackson resolved his case with an Alford plea, which acknowledges the prosecution has sufficient evidence to convict without the defendant actually pleading guilty or taking responsibility.
After Ella's murder, her ex-husband Jason Hans and his current wife Natalia adopted Ella's young son Alex, providing him a home with people who had known and loved his mother.
Before her death, Ella told her adult son Philip that if anything happened to her, he should look to Glenn as the responsible party.
Glenn Jackson essentially confessed to Ella's murder to a friend during a play date, first removing both their phones from earshot before making the admission.
Prince George's County Police Department is actively seeking tips in the cold case murder of Irina Hans and can be reached at 1-866-411-TIPS.
Glenn Jackson called 911 to report his wife Ella missing and opened with 'this is not an emergency.' He said he personally didn't think anything was wrong, that his son was fine, and that he only called because he heard on a TV show you shouldn't wait to report someone missing. It's one of the most eerily calm missing-person calls on record.
Jason Hans told Blayne that Ella's murder — being killed by her own spouse — was the more enraging of the two tragedies because marriage is supposed to be where you're safest. The randomness of Irina's death was a societal failure; Ella's was a personal betrayal.
Ella's adult son Philip made a second 911 call roughly 24 hours after Glenn's, insisting this was not normal for his mother and urging investigators to take it seriously. The lead detective credits Philip's call as the reason the investigation got off the ground.
Glenn arranged a play date with a friend, then removed both their phones to the car before essentially confessing to Ella's murder. The friend delayed telling police because he wasn't sure it was real — a decision that baffled both Andrea and Blayne.
Multiple viewers wrote in to say they had been students in Glenn Jackson's class at Eastern Kentucky University during the very time he was being investigated for Ella's murder. He was still teaching while all of this was unfolding.
Jason Hans, Ella's ex-husband and close friend, also lost his first wife Irina to an unsolved murder more than 20 years ago. The coincidence made investigators look hard at him — but it also gave him a harrowing frame of reference for understanding what Ella suffered.
Glenn Jackson made bail on murder charges, served five years on house arrest — during which Ella's friends could still see him walking to his mailbox — then took an Alford plea. His sentence was short enough that he could be released by 2034, drawing widespread outrage.
After Ella's murder, her ex-husband Jason Hans and his wife Natalia adopted her young son Alex. Jason's reasoning was simple: he loved Alex because Ella had loved him. Natalia, who had no children, became a full-time mom overnight. It's the rare happy ending in a Dateline story.
Irina Hans was shot point blank near the Green Line metro in the DC area in 2002, during the height of the DC sniper panic. Nothing was taken. A can of mace was found in her hand. Investigators believe someone knew her routine. Prince George's County Police are still seeking tips at 1-866-411-TIPS.
Body camera footage captured Glenn harassing women at a dog park, squatting and standing repeatedly in a way that made them uncomfortable enough to call police. The lead detective, a college professor who filibustered interviews with meandering explanations, described Glenn as always wanting to be the smartest person in the room.
Ella's neighbor JoLynn Stevenson describes her as completely devoted — someone who wanted to give her children a magical childhood to protect them from whatever she herself had been through. She never spoke negatively about her kids, never burdened others with frustration. It was, JoLynn says, an incredible skill.
Ella Jackson secretly recorded close to 70 interactions with Glenn as she tried to build a case to safely leave him. She feared his money and connections would let him win custody of Alex if she left without evidence. She also wrote in her journal and told her son Philip exactly who to blame if anything happened to her.
Analysis
What they talk about
- True Crime 78%
- Society & Culture 22%
Connections
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