Man arrested in connection to Lincoln County death now charged with murder

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The man arrested in connection to a death investigators deemed “suspicious” in Lincoln County is now facing murder charges, authorities say.

Twenty-two-year-old Jackson Phillips is now charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree manslaughter, according to Lincoln County State’s Attorney Tom Wollman.

The charges stem from an incident on March 1 when deputies found a dead woman at a residence near Highway 11 and 270th street, roughly two miles southeast of Sioux Falls. Authorities later identified her as 20-year-old Randi Gerlach.

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Jackson was arrested later that night during a traffic stop in Mitchell. He was initially charged with violating a no-contact order and aggravated assault.

Murder charges were not filed in the case until Wednesday. Wollman said his office waited for autopsy results before filing the more serious charges.

Jackson and Gerlach had been involved in a relationship, Wollman said, but he did not provide any more details on what led up to the homicide.

Jackson is being held on a $50,000 cash bond. His most serious charge, first-degree murder, comes with the possibility of the death sentence in South Dakota.

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