A convicted Mercer County murderer has been paroled. 69-year-old Janet Jackson was sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating the November of 1986 fatal attack on her estranged husband. The crime occurred at a rural Viola farmhouse. She was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, armed robbery and solicitation to commit murder during a May 1987 jury trial. Investigators testified at her trial that she induced Tony Royark, and Michael Miller to kill 35-year-old Kim Wayne Jackson. She lured him to the Mercer County farmhouse they owned by claiming she was ready to reconcile their failing marriage. Once there, he was beaten to death with a metal pipe. Police said Kim Jackson’s wallet was taken during the crime to make it look like a home invasion and robbery had occurred, and Janet Jackson was beaten to make it appear robbers had attacked her. The motive was to collect on her husband’s life insurance policy, according to testimony at Jackson’s trial. Royark was also sentenced to life in prison. He died in custody in 2014. And Miller, who was 16 at the time of the crime, was sentenced to 17 years in prison on conspiracy and attempted murder charges. He was paroled in 1995. Both Jacksons were employed at the Rock Island Post Office before the murder. Jackson was paroled Friday to District 2, which includes Quad Cities, Rockford, and Peoria areas.
