Kauai police say they may be getting closer to solving the brutal slaying of 57-year-old Amber Jackson, whose body was found in a remote area of Kealia 10 years ago today.
Jackson was reported missing after she was last seen at her job with the Hawaii State Teachers Association on June 23, 2010. Friends searched for her at her favorite hiking spots and went to Jackson’s home in Kapahi, where her car was parked in the driveway with her purse and cellphone inside. Jackson’s hiking boots were found in her home.
Ten days after her disappearance, on July 3, 2010, a pig hunter discovered the fully clothed body of a woman later identified as Jackson. Autopsy results showed she died of blunt force trauma to the head and other injuries caused by an assault, according to police. No arrests have been made in the case.
Born in Riverside, Calif., Jackson had been living on Kauai for 10 years.
In 2019, Investigation Discovery’s “Breaking Homicide” program aired an episode called “A Murder in Paradise” on the Jackson murder case. Kauai police said that since then they have been diligently reexamining evidence and interviewing people who may have known her. Police also said DNA testing is being conducted on evidence in the case.
Jackson’s friends and family formed the Amber Jackson Justice Group and have been urging the public to come forward with any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect or suspects responsible for her death. The group is offering a $20,000 reward.
“Somebody has got to know something,” said friend Teri Ceplo of Kapaa.
Longtime friend Ann Spaulding described Jackson as a creative person with a generous spirit.
“I was thinking about her a lot today. It’s very hard on everybody,” Spaulding said during a phone interview from the San Francisco Bay Area. “I am hopeful that new testing methods, etc., might yield some results here.”
Meanwhile, Spaulding said she will continue to keep Jackson’s case in the forefront by reaching out to law enforcement and elected officials and “pushing until the killer is found.”
In a statement Tuesday, Assistant Chief Bryson Ponce of the Kauai Police Department’s Investigative Services Bureau said: “We have not given up in our pursuit to find the suspect(s) involved in this appalling tragedy.
“What keeps us going and what has given us hope is that even though it’s 10 years later, there are evolving scientific methods that are being undertaken to potentially help discover the killer(s). We believe this case is solvable and that we may be closer to finding out who might have played a part in her untimely death,” he added.
Anyone with information on the Jackson case is asked to call Ponce at 241-1681. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 246-8300.
