{
  "id": "2026-02-23-lincoln-university-missouri-dating-violence-stabbing",
  "slug": "lincoln-university-missouri-dating-violence-stabbing-2026-02-23",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Lincoln University of Missouri",
    "shortName": "Lincoln (MO)",
    "state": "MO",
    "type": "hbcu",
    "alertSystemName": "LU Alert",
    "enrollment": 1900
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2026-02-23",
    "type": "dating-violence",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "headline": "A Team, a Volatile Relationship, and a Fatal Stabbing Near Lincoln University's Campus",
    "summary": "In the early morning hours of February 23, 2026, Lincoln University of Missouri senior sprinter [Kevaughn Goldson was fatally stabbed](https://abc17news.com/news/crime/2026/02/24/woman-charged-with-murder-after-jefferson-city-stabbingwoman-charged-with-murder-after-death-of-lincoln-university-sprinter/) at a residence near campus. His girlfriend and teammate, [Denita Jackson, was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action](https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/homicide-involving-lincoln-university-students-stemmed-from-domestic-dispute-documents-say/article_4f8b294d-82ae-4cbd-9c17-90bfdf8c3221.html) after telling police she stabbed Goldson during a confrontation that followed a \"yearslong volatile relationship\" with prior reports of domestic violence between the two.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "outcome": "Kevaughn Goldson, 23, died of his injuries after being airlifted to a hospital. Denita Jackson, 27, was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action and held without bond. Both were members of the Lincoln University Blue Tigers track and field team.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 1,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "February 24, 2026, the day after news of Kevaughn Goldson's death became public",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "Our thoughts are with family, friends, faculty, staff and all who have been impacted by this tragic situation. The well-being of our University community is our greatest priority. Students and employees are reminded of counseling and other support services for those who need them.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://krcgtv.com/news/local/lincoln-university-student-killed-in-jefferson-city-shooting",
      "sourceDescription": "Lincoln University of Missouri official statement, quoted directly by KRCG 13",
      "annotations": [
        "This community statement, not a live emergency alert, is the defining institutional communication in this case: the stabbing occurred at a private residence off campus, so Lincoln's response centered on grief support and counseling resources rather than a shelter-in-place or avoid-the-area directive",
        "The statement deliberately withholds any description of the relationship between Goldson and Jackson or the circumstances of the killing, consistent with how universities typically frame dating-violence homicides involving two of their own students",
        "Lincoln, one of Missouri's two historically Black land-grant universities, has an enrollment under 2,000, meaning the loss of two track team members (one killed, one charged) to the same incident was acutely felt across a small campus community"
      ],
      "characterCount": 281
    }
  ],
  "context": "Kevaughn Goldson, a 23-year-old senior sprinter on Lincoln University of Missouri's track and field team originally from Kingston, Jamaica, was found with stab wounds to his chest and back at a residence in the 800 block of Fairmount Boulevard in Jefferson City, near Lincoln's campus, in the early morning hours of February 23, 2026. He was airlifted to a hospital, where he died of his injuries. Police arrested [Denita Jackson, 27, also a sprinter on the Lincoln track team](https://hbcugameday.com/2026/02/25/lincoln-university-mo-track-athlete-killed-fellow-athlete-charged/), who told investigators the two had been in a \"yearslong volatile relationship\" that included prior domestic-violence reports. According to a probable-cause statement reported by [KOMU](https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/homicide-involving-lincoln-university-students-stemmed-from-domestic-dispute-documents-say/article_4f8b294d-82ae-4cbd-9c17-90bfdf8c3221.html), Jackson said she came home from work early after feeling ill, found Goldson and her roommate together, and that Goldson choked her during the ensuing confrontation before she grabbed a knife from under the roommate's bed and stabbed him twice. Jackson called 911 herself. She was [charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action and held without bond](https://abc17news.com/news/crime/2026/02/24/woman-charged-with-murder-after-jefferson-city-stabbingwoman-charged-with-murder-after-death-of-lincoln-university-sprinter/). Because the killing occurred at an off-campus private residence rather than in Clery-reportable campus geography, Lincoln's public response was a community statement rather than an LU Alert emergency notification.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The relationship between the two Lincoln University track teammates had a documented history of domestic-violence reports before the fatal stabbing, per Jackson's own statement to police",
    "The stabbing occurred at an off-campus private residence near, not on, Lincoln's campus, which is why the university's response was a community statement rather than a live LU Alert",
    "Jackson is not counted as a casualty; the case's casualties.killed of 1 reflects only Goldson",
    "The incident struck a small HBCU athletics program directly, removing one team member to death and another to a murder charge from the same roster"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Woman charged with murder after death of fellow Lincoln University sprinter (ABC17NEWS)",
      "url": "https://abc17news.com/news/crime/2026/02/24/woman-charged-with-murder-after-jefferson-city-stabbingwoman-charged-with-murder-after-death-of-lincoln-university-sprinter/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Homicide involving Lincoln University students stemmed from domestic dispute, documents say (KOMU)",
      "url": "https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/homicide-involving-lincoln-university-students-stemmed-from-domestic-dispute-documents-say/article_4f8b294d-82ae-4cbd-9c17-90bfdf8c3221.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Lincoln University student killed in Jefferson City shooting (KRCG 13)",
      "url": "https://krcgtv.com/news/local/lincoln-university-student-killed-in-jefferson-city-shooting",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "HBCU Track Athlete Killed; Fellow Athlete Charged (HBCU Gameday)",
      "url": "https://hbcugameday.com/2026/02/25/lincoln-university-mo-track-athlete-killed-fellow-athlete-charged/",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Lincoln University senior killed in stabbing off campus, girlfriend charged with murder (TheGrio)",
      "url": "https://thegrio.com/2026/02/25/lincoln-university-senior-killed-in-stabbing-off-campus-girlfriend-charged-with-murder/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "dating-violence",
    "intimate-partner-violence",
    "hbcu",
    "missouri",
    "jefferson-city",
    "track-and-field",
    "student-athletes",
    "off-campus",
    "fatal-stabbing"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-03",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}