Life Sentence for Man Convicted of Killing Woman Who Spurned Him

Boston, MA - Christopher Jackson was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday, convicted of shooting to death a childhood friend after she did not return his romantic advances, according to prosecutors.

Keosha Gilmore, 25, was sitting in a parked car with her boyfriend in Mattapan when Jackson, then 25, allegedly shot her in the head and the arm through the window.

Now 29, Jackson will serve a life sentence in prison, the mandatory sentence for a second-degree murder conviction, as well as a simultaneous six- or seven-year term for unlawful firearm-related convictions. He could potentially be released on parole after 15 years.

Gilmore's mother addressed the court before Jackson's sentence was handed down Tuesday.

"[Keosha] was a friend to everyone she met – including Mr. Christopher Jackson. She was sensitive to other’s needs, compassionate, caring, and non-judgmental,” her mother said, according to an impact statement shared by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. “I will never see Keosha get married. I’ll never be a grandmother to her children. She’ll never be a wife or a mother herself. We’ll never know what her future would have been …. I feel like a part of me is missing. It’s like a limb is gone.”

Jackson was convicted of second-degree murder last week in connection with Gilmore's 2012 death, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm.

Read the full story on Jackson's conviction from Patch here.