Maryland Man Faces Life in Prison for Attempted Murder in Laramie

A Maryland man faces up to life in prison for attempted murder after beating a woman, holding her underwater, waterboarding her, and pushing her out of a second-story window causing spinal fractures.

In July 2023, Joseph Paul Jackson and the woman with whom he was traveling began drinking at 8 a.m. in the AmericInn Hotel in Laramie where they were staying. Jackson left the room for breakfast. Returning with scrambled eggs, he shoved the food in the woman’s face, hair, and ears, and then poured beer on her head, the affidavit of probable cause states, filed by Laramie Police Department Detective Cheryl Kondratieff.  

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As she was washing off, Jackson repeatedly held her completely under the bathwater until she started kicking. After allowing her out of the bathroom, he began pushing, kicking, and strangling her. At one point he placed the towel over her face and poured beer over it. 

Wanting to escape, the woman began climbing out the window when Jackson pushed her out of it. He found her outside on the ground, picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and carried her back to the hotel room. He threatened her repeatedly, and her children (who were not present); eventually, she convinced him to call her an ambulance.

From Ivinson Memorial Hospital, she was transported to UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies, with Jackson following. She was able to communicate to a nurse she was in trouble at one point when Jackson had left the room. After her surgery for spinal fusion and bone graphing, Jackson was escorted out of the hospital by security.

Jackson faces 11 changes, consisting of six felonies and five misdemeanors:

• Second-degree attempted murder, punishable by between 20 years and life in prison 
• Kidnapping to inflict bodily injury, which generally carries up to 20 years in prison 
• Aggravated assault (up to 10 years and $10,000 in fines) 
• Two counts of strangulation of a household member (up to 10 years and $10,00 in fines each) 
• Felonious restraint (up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines) 
• Two counts of unlawful contact (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines each) 
• Three counts of domestic battery (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines each)