Dateline NBC “The Bluegrass Mystery” July 10 2026
Dateline NBC presents “The Bluegrass Mystery” on Friday, July 10, 2026, at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT. Reported by Blayne Alexander, the two-hour broadcast examines the disappearance and murder of Ella Jackson, a Kentucky mother whose vanishing launched an investigation into the three men closest to her before evidence ultimately pointed to her husband.
Ella Jackson, 47, disappeared from her Richmond, Kentucky, home in October 2019. Concern grew after her oldest son, Phillip Hans, realized he had not heard from his mother, something he described as highly unusual. As family members searched for answers, investigators quickly began examining Ella’s personal relationships and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
The case initially centered on three important figures in Ella’s life: her husband Glenn Jackson, her oldest son Phillip, and her ex-husband Jason Hans. Detectives worked to determine whether Ella had voluntarily left, become the victim of foul play, or encountered some other tragedy. As investigators interviewed those closest to her, Glenn Jackson’s changing explanations about his wife’s whereabouts began attracting increasing scrutiny.
Glenn initially told police that Ella may have abandoned their young son and suggested she had disappeared before and later returned. Detectives, however, found little evidence supporting that claim. Ella’s cellphone, wallet, vehicle and the couple’s then-5-year-old son were all still at the family home, suggesting she had not left voluntarily.
The investigation intensified after forensic testing of Glenn Jackson’s vehicle uncovered a significant amount of blood evidence. Using luminol, investigators located a large stain inside the trunk that reacted as blood, along with a knife that also tested positive for traces consistent with blood evidence. Prosecutors argued the discoveries strongly indicated that Ella had been killed before her body was moved.
One week after Glenn’s arrest in April 2020, investigators made the breakthrough they had feared. Ella’s skeletal remains were discovered on rural property in Pulaski County adjacent to land owned by Glenn Jackson. Women’s clothing was scattered nearby, and although the advanced decomposition prevented the medical examiner from determining the precise cause of death, a significant skull fracture led authorities to rule the death a homicide.
As detectives reconstructed Ella’s final days, they uncovered additional evidence suggesting she had been preparing to leave her marriage. Just days before her disappearance, she had met with a domestic violence advocate and consulted a divorce attorney, revelations prosecutors argued provided a motive for the killing.
Rather than proceed to trial, Glenn Jackson later entered an Alford plea to manslaughter, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, acknowledging prosecutors had sufficient evidence to likely secure a conviction while maintaining his innocence. In April 2026, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, with credit for time already served.
“The Bluegrass Mystery” features the first television interview with lead investigator Jason Friend of the Richmond Police Department, along with Richmond Police Chief Rodney Richardson. Blayne Alexander retraces the investigation from Ella’s disappearance through the forensic breakthroughs and ultimate plea agreement, exploring how careful detective work and scientific evidence helped solve a case that began with a missing mother and ended with a conviction despite the absence of a complete confession or a definitive medical determination of how she died.
