A butterfly activitist drugged and strangled her former stepfather after discovering nude footage of herself on his laptop, prosecutors alleged.
Thomas Merriman’s physique was present in January 2021, beneath a pile of trash on the Solana Seaside, Calif., house he shared with stepdaughter Jade Janks.
The homicide trial of Janks, 39, an inside designer who co-founded the analysis nonprofit Butterfly Farms, started this week in Vista Superior Courtroom.
She has pleaded not responsible to killing the 64-year-old Merriman, who prosecutors mentioned died of an overdose of sleeping capsules Janks gave him after she found the images — one in every of which he reportedly used as his screensaver.
“This was no accident,” San Diego County Deputy District Legal professional Jorge Del Portillo mentioned, in accordance with The San Diego Union-Tribune. “This was homicide by design.”
The images have been taken greater than a decade in the past, consensually, by Janks and her boyfriend, authorities mentioned. It’s unclear how they got here into Merriman’s possession.
Janks discovered the images whereas she was cleansing her stepfather’s condominium, who had been hospitalized, Del Portillo added.
She texted with one other man about giving Merriman the capsules, prosecutors contended.
“I simply dosed the hell out of him. Stopping for whiskey then at Dixieland to stall. LMK,” Janks allegedly texted the day she picked Merriman up from the hospital, in accordance with Del Portillo.
Janks appears to second guess her plan in one other textual content message the prosecutors shared.
“He’s waking up,” one alleged textual content learn, in accordance with NBC San Diego. “I actually don’t need to be the one to do that.”
“I'm about to membership him on the pinnacle as he's waking up,” one other learn.
Janks ultimately referred to as one other particular person for assist, mentioned prosecutors. That particular person referred to as the authorities the following day.
Deputies then searched the house and located Merriman’s physique beneath a pile of bins, blankets and different trash as they have been leaving.
Attorneys for Janks, the argued that Janks didn't kill Merriman, who as a substitute died from poor well being and “his personal cocktail” of medicine.
“You'll not discover any proof that he was strangled to demise,” Janks’ lawyer, Marc Carlos advised the jury.
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