A California interior designer was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday after prosecutors said she killed her stepfather, who is a butterfly protector, when she found nude photos of herself on his computer.
When the San Diego County jury read out its verdict against Jade Sasha Janks, the 39-year-old Solana Beach resident’s eyes widened and she seemed stunned in disbelief when she turned to her defense attorney.
Janks, who was released on bail, was immediately taken into custody and faces 25 years to life in prison for killing 64-year-old Thomas Merriman, co-founder of Butterfly Farms in Encinitas.
Deputy District Attorney Jorge Del Portillo thanked the jury for their verdict.
“They were excellent throughout the process and patient and kind and attentive, and we’re just glad we achieved some justice for Tom and his family,” the district attorney told reporters outside the Vista courtroom.
Merriman was killed on December 31, 2020, shortly after Janks found the compromising photos on Merriman’s computer.
Janks drugged Merriman and then suffocated him with a plastic bag and strangled him to death, prosecutors said. A text message that Janks sent to an acquaintance the day Merriman died and was shown to the jury read: “I just dosed the hell out of him.”
Jank’s defense insisted that Merriman died from poor health and his own chronic substance abuse. Merriman’s official cause of death was listed as an overdose of prescription sleep aids.
Defense attorney Marc Carlos said he is looking into all appeal options. He acknowledged that the text messages sent by Janks were decisive in the jury’s decision to convict his client.
Jurors also rejected lesser charges, such as manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, which could have allowed a judge to consider mitigating circumstances when sentencing.
As things stand, Janks faces a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life the next time she appears in court on April 3.
“The reason Jade went to court was because she believed she was not guilty of this matter, and that was her position throughout the case,” Carlos told CNNBreakingNews.net on Thursday.
Carlos said he understood his client’s stunned response to the guilty verdict.