Viswa Vanapalli
Noura Jackson was only 18-years-old when she discovered her mother, Jennifer Jackson, stabbed to death in their home in June 2005. As the authorities dug deeper, they believed that Noura was the killer; she was eventually convicted based on circumstantial evidence before the conviction was overturned. ABC News’ ‘20/20: Deadly Daughter’ focuses on Noura’s story and explores her claims of innocence. Ansley Larsson, a friend who believed in the same, was of immense help to Noura. So, if you want to know more about her, we’ve got you covered.
Who is Ansley Larsson?
Ansley Larsson and Jennifer Jackson lived in Memphis, Tennessee. They became friends after their children started dating. But tragedy struck in June 2005 when 39-year-old Jennifer was found murdered in her apartment. During the initial stages of the investigation, the authorities looked at Mike Irvin, a pastor Jennifer was dating around the time she died. Furthermore, he admitted to calling her that night.
Ansley also said the same, “The truth is, the first thing I thought of was him. There seems to be a seething, like a real underlying anger with him that he appears to be a very controlling person.” However, the authorities eventually ruled him out; he claimed to have been home about 90 minutes away around the time Jennifer was killed. Soon, they turned their attention to Noura, the teenage daughter that found the body.
The investigators suspected that Noura killed her mother in anger; they learned from witnesses that the mother and daughter had problems in the past, and Noura hadn’t been entirely honest regarding where she was on the night of the murder. However, Ansley never believed Noura was responsible. She said, “There’s no way that Noura Jackson could have done that to anybody. And never to her mother! She loved her mother. I don’t know a whole lot of 16-year-olds that will cancel their plans to hang out with their mother. ‘Mom needs me.’ Woosh, there’d she go.”
Nevertheless, based on circumstantial evidence, Noura was convicted of second-degree murder in February 2009. A few years later, the conviction was overturned, with Noura taking an Alford plea for a lesser charge. This paved the way for her to be released from prison in August 2016, and Ansley was there to pick her up. At the time, Jennifer’s family refused to support Noura, so she moved in with Ansley.
Ansley Larsson Has Moved On in Her Life Today
On their drive after Noura’s release, Ansley Larsson asked if Noura wanted to drive past her old home. It was an emotional moment for her, seeing how things were different by then. After that, Ansley welcomed Noura into her home in another neighborhood in Memphis. A lot has changed since then, with Noura eventually shifting base to New York and Ansley moving on with her life.
Ansley Larsson still lives in Memphis with her husband and is a loving mother to her two sons. Apart from that, Ansley runs her own goose egg jewelry business. Her inspiration to make hand-dyed eggs came when she spoke with a woman doing the same at a mall. The loving grandmother seems to be a huge fan of the Memphis-based pro-basketball team, The Memphis Grizzlies and loves attending their games in full spirit.
Read More: How Did Jennifer Jackson Die?
