Missing Elderly Chicago Woman's Family Upset After Boyfriend Acquitted Of Her Murder

The family of an elderly Chicago woman who went missing in 2018 is upset after a judge acquitted her former boyfriend in her murder, despite video footage that shows him wheeling a bulky suitcase out of her home.

Cook County Judge Diana Kenworthy acquitted Jimmy Jackson, 75, on Friday, for the murder of his missing girlfriend Daisy Hayes, 65, NBC Chicago reports. He had been charged with murder, home invasion and concealing Hayes’ death but Kenworthy says there is no evidence to suggest that Hayes was murdered, as her body has never been found.

“All I could do is scream and just run out the courtroom — like what didn’t you see?” Hayes’ daughter Teresa Smith told NBC Chicago of the decision. She was referring to video footage that appears to show Jackson leaving Hayes’ apartment in 2018, struggling with a large piece of luggage. Hayes was never seen alive after that.

Smith alleged that the outline of part of her mother’s body is visible in the footage of Jackson attempting to move the soft-sided suitcase.

“I can see her whole leg, her whole leg print," she said. 

"You see him struggling with this suitcase,” Smith said of the footage of Jackson shown in court, ABC 7 Chicago reports. “ You see him actually put the suitcase in the dumpster. You actually see him take garbage from other dumpsters to put on top of her so it can be concealed. So I don't know, what more did Diana Kenworthy need?"

The judge additionally noted that there was no sign of struggle or biological evidence of a crime; she also mentioned on Friday that Hayes had been drinking on the day she vanished.

Hayes’ family, including Smith, left the courtroom on Friday in tears. 

This isn’t the first time Jackson has been accused of murder.

In 1985, he faced two counts of murder, NBC Chicago reports. However, the charges were dropped after a witness repeatedly failed to show up in court.