Traci Evenson, murdered in Cedar Rapids, June 21, 1997

The June 21, 1997 murder of 22-year-old Cedar Rapids resident Traci Ann Evenson was a tragedy compounded by frustrating irony.

Traci was beaten so severely that she suffocated from swollen face and head wounds.

Traci’s body was found by her sister, Jodi Lynn Jackson, whose troubled relationship with her husband, Anthony Jackson, was likely at the center of Traci’s death.

Law enforcement had two theories: (1) that Anthony Jackson went to Traci’s apartment to confront her because she warned Jodi he was bad for her or (2) that he went there to rape Traci and was rebuffed. Either way, intense rage was involved.

These theories could not be pursued, however. Five months after the murder, Jodi and Anthony Jackson and their two children died in an automobile accident.

DNA taken from Jackson’s body after death matched that left on a Cedar Rapids rape victim but could not be linked to Traci, who was not sexually assaulted.

Traci paid the ultimate price for trying to protect her sister from the man who not only took Traci’s life but left her body to be discovered by the sister she was loyal to. And his death cheated Traci out of justice.

If you have information about the unsolved murder of Traci Ann Evenson, contact the Cedar Rapids Police Department at (319) 286-5375.