Prosecutors allege that a butterfly activist drugged and strangled her estranged stepfather after discovering naked photographs of herself on his computer.
In January 2021, Thomas Merriman’s body was discovered beneath a trash heap in the Solana Beach, California home he lived with stepdaughter Jade Janks.
This week, the murder trial of Janks, a 39-year-old interior designer who co-founded the nonprofit research organization Butterfly Farms, began in Vista Superior Court.
She has pled not guilty to killing the 64-year-old Merriman, who according to prosecutors died from an overdose of sleeping pills Janks gave him after discovering the images, one of which he apparently used as a screensaver.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Deputy District Attorney Jorge Del Portillo of San Diego County stated, “This was no accident.” “This was premeditated murder.”
The images were shot voluntarily by Janks and her lover more than a decade ago, according to police. It is unknown how they came into the possession of Merriman.
Janks discovered the photographs while cleaning her hospitalized stepfather’s apartment, Del Portillo noted.
Prosecutors asserted that she texted with another man about providing Merriman the pills.
“I’ve just dosed him to death. The day she picked up Merriman from the hospital, Janks allegedly texted, “Stopping for whiskey, then stalling at Dixieland. LMK,” according to Del Portillo.
The prosecution claims Janks committed the murder “with purpose.”
In another text conversation given by the prosecutors, Janks appears to rethink her idea.
According to NBC San Diego, a purported text read, “He’s waking up.” “I would rather not be the one to do this.”
“I am about to whack him on the head as he wakes up,” reads another.
Prosecutors claim that Janks eventually called another person for assistance. The next day, the person called the authorities.
As deputies were leaving the residence, they discovered Merriman’s body beneath a pile of boxes, blankets, and other rubbish.
Attorneys for Janks maintained that Merriman died of bad health and “his own cocktail” of medicines, not at the hands of Janks.
Janks’ counsel, Marc Carlos, told the jury, “You will discover no evidence that he was strangulated to death.”
»Interior designer Jade Janks killed stepfather for nude images, prosecutors say«