Dateline: Missing Marie - A complete detailed chronological timeline of events in the Marie Singleton-Jackson murder case, explored

Dateline: Missing Marie - A complete detailed chronological timeline of events in the Marie Singleton-Jackson murder case, explored;

In November 1994, the abrupt vanishing of a 33-year-old CIA member and a mother of two, Marie Singleton-Jackson, activated an investigation that would last for decades.

What started as just a missing persons report eventually swirled into a lengthy, challenging journey for justice—one that, in due course, exposed mysteries submerged inside a marriage that lasted only for a while.

As covered extensively on NBC’s Dateline, this unforgettable true crime murder case took several twists and turns for nearly 14 years before answers were finally revealed.

Here is a comprehensive chronological timeline, patched together from police reports, witnesses, and what the Dateline episode publicized.

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A chronological timeline of events publicized on Dateline: The Marie Singleton-Jackson murder case:

A] November 11, 1994 – Marie disappears after an argument

1} As the Dateline episode reveals, Marie and her spouse, Andre Jackson, had intended to be present at a high school football match that fateful night.

2} According to how Jackson narrates the incident, Marie had been consuming alcohol and decided to stay at home instead. He stated she was already gone when he came back home later with his son.

3} The very next morning, i.e., November 12th, Jackson reported his wife, Marie, missing to authorities. He stated that both Marie and her car had gone missing.

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B] November 16, 1994 – Marie’s body is found

4} Exactly 5 days later, a person walking by spotted Marie’s grey-coloured Saab from a missing persons flyer near Dockweiler Beach.

5} As mentioned on Dateline, the Saab had two parking tickets, a to some extent open sunroof, and a missing battery. Inside were Marie’s purse and cell phone— safe and sound.

6} Investigators unlocked the trunk and came across her dead body in a disastrous position. She had bruises all over her face, and the cause of death was later verified as strangulation.

7} Since her personal possessions were still intact in the car, this immediately ruled out the possibility of a robbery gone wrong.

8} The Detectives spotted Jackson in the lobby of the Inglewood Police Department. His reaction to the murder of his wife was accounted for by Detective Steve Seyler as;

“A 2-year-old having a tantrum”

9} This raised suspicions regarding Jackson’s genuineness.

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C] Days following the discovery – Jackson becomes the prime suspect

10} Jackson’s outlandish manners and activities after the discovery of his wife’s murder only added to the already fuelling suspicions. Another detective supposedly spotted him at a car wash just a while after Marie’s death, appearing as cool as a cucumber.

11} As Dateline dives deeper, friends and family of Maire shared that Jackson had turned out to be a man of control for the duration of their marriage. Marie had supposedly lied to him about operating her work from out of her usual workplace, which eventually led to a bad quarrel between the two.

12} Investigators also observed Jackson had only dialed one call to Marie the night she went missing.

13} Deputy DA John Lewin says;

“When somebody cannot reach a loved one, they will absolutely go nuts blowing up their phone lines…”

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D] 1994–2002 – The case goes cold

14} Despite their uncertainties involving Jackson, the authorities were short of solid proof and evidence to get a hold of Jackson.

15} Skin flakes found under Marie’s nails and a small drop of blood on her car were well-maintained, but they could not be put to use as DNA research and technology were still in the early stages of development.

16} In the meantime, Jackson smartly moved outside of California.

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E] 2002–2007 – Cold case reopened and new leads emerge

17} The FBI and Inglewood PD went back and reopened the case that was once closed.

18} Marie’s older one, Marcus, who was about 8 at the time of the murder, recalled being alone with his baby brother the night his mother went missing.

19} Marcus also told the detectives he was an eyewitness to his father choking his mother in a fight and opened up about the toxic environment at home.

20} Detectives also find out that Marie had been thinking about leaving Jackson for about six weeks before the murder could take place.

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F] 2007–2008 – DNA links Andre Jackson to the murder

21} After years of DNA advancement finally being available, the newer authorities working on the reopened case made use of ‘familial DNA’ by testing Andre Jackson Jr., Jackson’s son, as Jackson could not be traced easily.

22} Lo and behold, the FBI lab reports finally matched the DNA found under Marie’s nails and the blood spot to Jackson with the help of this familial link.

23} In 2008, Andre Jackson was situated in Tempe, Arizona, and was finally arrested.

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G] 2012 – Trial and conviction

24} The NBC true crime episode unveils that the prosecutors speculated that Jackson strangled Marie after a fight and left her body in her car trunk.

25} He pulled out the car battery so no one would come across the car on an immediate basis.

26} Deputy DA John Lewin says that Marie, in a way, helped get hold of Jackson;

“She scratched at him and she got him…”

27} The jury took merely a few hours to accuse Jackson of being guilty. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

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As seen on the NBC show, Marie Singleton-Jackson's murder was not only heartbreaking but also terrifying in how complex a case it was.

Her case, like many other cases, focuses on how developments in DNA technology and science, along with tireless sweat, finally brought justice that was long overdue.

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