Kisjonne Campbell pleads guilty in Michaelle Jaccis' death in West Babylon in 2022, Suffolk DA says

A Brooklyn man accused of fatally stabbing a woman outside her West Babylon home on New Year’s Day in 2022 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Monday in Riverhead, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Kisjonne Campbell, 25, told Suffolk police that he had been in a relationship with Michaelle Jaccis when he repeatedly stabbed her on Jan. 1, 2022. He is expected to be sentenced to 20 years to life in prison when he returns to Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins’ court on June 9. 

“This was a horrific and senseless act of violence … this guilty plea spares Michaelle Jaccis’s family from having to relive this tragedy in open court and ensures the public will be protected from this violent defendant,” Tierney said in a statement. 

Campbell’s attorney, Christopher Brocato of Central Islip, did not immediately return a request for comment. 

Jaccis was at home that day with her twin brother and her 15-year-old brother when Campbell knocked on the door, according to prosecutors. When the 15-year-old answered the door, Campbell was outside, dressed in all black with a ski mask around his neck. The teen had never met Campbell before, officials said. 

Campbell asked the teen for a phone number for a taxi company. The teen looked up a number and provided it to the defendant, who then left. officials said.

The younger brother told Jaccis about the exchange with Campbell, prompting her to go for a short drive in the family vehicle. Jaccis was attacked by Campbell shortly after she returned, prosecutors said. 

Jaccis’ brothers rushed to the door when they heard her screaming and saw Campbell, dressed in the same clothes he was wearing earlier, furiously stabbing their sister, officials said. They returned inside the home and called 911 for assistance, but Jaccis was gone when they returned, prosecutors said.

Suffolk police soon spotted Campbell jogging down a nearby block. When the defendant spotted the marked police car, according to prosecutors, he attempted to jump over a fence to flee before officers grabbed him, officials said. The teenage brother later identified Campbell as the man who had asked for the number of a cab company and his sister’s killer, according to Tierney’s office. 

A knife with a broken tip was recovered by Suffolk police in the bushes of the house next door to the crime scene. The tip of a sharp metal object was later recovered from Jaccis’ skull during an autopsy. The ski mask was also recovered nearby and possessed DNA that matched Campbell.

During a two-hour videotaped interview with Suffolk detectives, Campbell said he had a relationship with Jaccis and took a cab from a shelter where he was staying to her home that day, prosecutors said. He admitted that he punched Jaccis in the face and described a long knife he was carrying that day, but told police he blacked out after he struck the victim.