Mother of woman found murdered and burned, desperate for justice

DETROIT (WJBK) - A young woman was murdered, her body burned so badly that investigators had a tough time identifying her.

Victoria Jackson's worried family searched for weeks after she disappeared before getting the heartbreaking news she had been killed.

Andrea Prince never thought she'd be planning her daughter's funeral.

"I'm going to miss her," said Prince. "Oh God.

"I'm just realizing she's never going to walk through that door."

The mother of Jackson, 24, was left looking at her daughter's photos Friday.

"She's so pretty," Prince said. "Oh my God."

Jackson's mother says her daughter would visit her every day. Two months ago, she quickly realized something was wrong when she didn't hear from Jackson for days.

"Her last words were 'Mom I'm going to get you a nice Mother's Day gift.'"

Detroit police say Jackson was last seen near Morang Avenue and Kelly Road in late March on the city's east side.

Her mother says she would hang out with friends in the area but never imagined that someone could kill her daughter who she says, was so joyful, hard-working and caring.

"Why did she have to go so horribly," Prince said. "It's my baby. My oldest daughter."

Detroit police say someone burned a woman's body beyond recognition inside an abandoned home on Wilfred Street on April 30.

Jackson's mother learned a month later that her worst nightmare had come true - her beautiful daughter was gone.

"The pain she went through," Prince said. "She broke through the gates. She went to heaven."

Detroit police say Friday that Jackson's body was so badly burned that they don't have a cause of death.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,500 reward to find who killed her.

"You're really burying yourself," she said. "You're not a man."

Jackson's mother is vowing to keep her memory alive every day.

"I love you," she said. "You aren't gone. Your spirit is here, I love you."

Jackson's funeral will be held at Total Life Christian Ministries, 13560 E. McNichols, Detroit from 10 to 11 a.m.  on Saturday. After the funeral the family will gather at Empire on Queen and Whittier 15000 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

If you have any information on who may have killed Jackson please call Detroit police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP.