Ackerman is accused of shooting his brother in the back of the head following an argument "over a girl.”
Officers of the Sugar Creek Police Department reported in a statement of probable cause that the alleged victim was found after a welfare check was requested by a relative of his after his “Life 360” smartphone tracking application noted that his phone had not moved for approximately seven hours.
“Officers responded to the location and observed the victim lying on his back on the bank of the pond. Officers observed the victim lying on his back with a wound to the back of his head. Officers observed a large pool of bold on the right side of the victim’s body and under his head.”
On Sunday, relatives of the victim told detectives that they suspected Ackerman was responsible for the death of his brother.
They reportedly contacted the medical examiner’s office and spoke with an investigator who told police, “while on the phone with the relative, an unknown individual could be heard in the background stating the incident was a 'Cain and Abel' situation."
A few hours after the initial call, the Ackerman family contacted police and said the suspect was at a McDonald’s restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.
When Kansas City Police arrived on the scene responding to a disturbance, Ackerman exited his vehicle and “placed his hands behind his back without being ordered to do so,” per court documents.
Family members speaking to detectives were shown a photo of the two brothers taken just hours before the victim’s death at the same location where his body was found.
Elaborating on the overheard reference to a “Cain and Abel situation,” the family member told officers that Ackerman held a bitter jealousy for his brother for “most of his life,” and felt that his brother was better off while he struggled.
Our office today charged Jacob Ackerman for a homicide that took place in Sugar Creek this weekend.
— Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson (@JACOProsecutor) July 7, 2025
He faces 2nd Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action. pic.twitter.com/Diu9WUNkgN
While being interviewed by Detectives, Ackerman denied knowledge of his brother’s location.
But when told that the situation looked suspicious, the suspect told officers, “If it looks bad, then it is,” the report said. He also permitted his vehicle to be searched but demurred from having his home searched, saying, “You are going to do what you are going to do.”
A search of his home revealed clothing matching what he wore in the photo with his brother at “various locations throughout the residence.”
And in a later interview, he confessed to shooting his brother in the head after an argument “over a girl.”
Despite first claiming he didn’t know the whereabouts of the murder weapon, Ackerman later passed a note to detectives telling them to search his attic crawlspace, where the firearm was recovered.
Ackerman is being held at the Jackson County Detention Center on a $300,000 Cash-only bond pending his next court appearance.
