A California woman was convicted and sentenced for the murder of her stepfather Monday, reports say.
39-year-old Jade Janks was convicted of murdering her stepfather and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
The judge says Janks will be eligible for parole in 25 years.
In December, a jury found Janks guilty of killing her stepfather, Tom Merriman, after she found hundreds of nude photos of herself on his computer.
“Tom came into my life when I was just a little girl and exerted influence during that early stage of development when I was still figuring things out,” said Janks during her statement to the court Monday.
“Unfortunately, that influence manifested itself into inappropriate touch, coercion, reckless behavior and complete violation of what I now realize was years of psychological manipulation. All of this came crashing down on me when I found hundreds of naked photos of myself on his computer. I felt shattered,” she said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t act the way I was supposed to that day,” she added. “I think about it every day since. And to Tom’s family, I understand you hate me for what you believe I did to Tom, however, there’s a lot more than you’ll ever understand,” she said.
The judge also heard from five of Merriman’s loved ones.
Patrick Merriman, Tom’s brother, grew emotional as he spoke. “I think about Tom every day,” he said. “And wonder how and why this heinous crime was committed. Everyone I knew loved Tom.”
Outside the courtroom, Janks’ defense attorney Marc Carlos was asked why Janks never brought up the alleged abuse during the trial.
“It’s because Jade has asserted she did nothing to cause the death of Mr. Merriman. Had she actually caused the death of him, that’s something that goes toward a manslaughter [charge]. That’s provocation,” he said.
Carlos said he will be filing an appeal on Janks’ behalf.
During her week-long trial, Janks said the nude photos were taken when she was between 16 and 26 years old.
After finding them, prosecutors say she drugged Merriman and strangled him on December 31, 2020.
Her defense argued he overdosed on sleeping pills in her car, and Janks hid the body under a pile of garbage next to his home because she didn’t want to be blamed for his death.
“What made the prosecutor’s case was all the texts about kicking him in the car, he’s waking up. I’m gonna bonk him over the head. Come help me take care of him,” Von Helms said.
She said prosecutors used those texts to show Janks intended to kill him.
“His defense was the gentlemen, her stepfather, had taken pills before when he was in the car that night and had an accidental overdose because he died from that pill that he put in his mouth,” she said.
Merriman was a prominent North County businessman who co-founded Butterfly Farms in Encinitas.
After over a day of deliberations, the jury ultimately found Janks guilty.
On the last day Merriman was seen alive, Janks picked him up from a medical facility and by this point, prosecutors allege she already had a plan in motion to kill Merriman with the assistance of a man prosecutors identified as a “fixer.”
Janks testified during the trial that she understood that the fixer worked in security and she wanted his protection while she confronted Merriman about the naked pictures.
After picking up Merriman on Dec. 31, Janks was accused of texting the fixer, “I just dosed the hell out of him” before stopping at a shopping center to buy items prosecutors allege were used in the killing.
When the fixer was unable to come out to Solana Beach that day to assist in the murder, prosecutors alleged he sent a friend of his instead.
When that friend arrived, Janks was accused of telling the man, “I want you to strangle him and then bring him into the house. I’ll take care of the rest.” The man did not want to get involved and left, Deputy District Attorney Jorge Del Portillo told jurors.
Prosecutors allege Janks next contacted a friend of hers. After he arrived, Janks allegedly told him that she had killed Merriman and wanted help moving the body. Prosecutors say he also left, then called police the next day.
Del Portillo said Monday that Janks then used either a grocery bag or a pillowcase to suffocate a dosed-up Merriman. When that didn’t kill him fast enough, she used her bare hands to strangle him, the prosecutor said.
Janks testified during the trial that Merriman was heavily intoxicated following his discharge from the medical facility and she had reached out to others for help moving him into her home. When she was unable to move him on her own, she left him in her vehicle to sleep it off.
On the morning of Jan. 1, she said she moved the car to Merriman’s house, then realized he was dead after he was cold to the touch.
When asked why she didn’t call 911 at that point, Janks testified that she was scared that she would be blamed for killing Merriman. In a panic, she tried to move him into a wheelchair to take him inside but his body fell onto the driveway, she testified.
Not wanting a neighbor to see, she said she piled empty boxes and other debris on top of Merriman to keep him concealed until she could figure out what to do.
Janks was pulled over by a police officer later that day and texted the fixer, “Lose my number. I’m getting pulled over.” Janks testified she wrote that text because she did not want the man to be unfairly suspected by the police.
On Monday, Carlos said there was “some conduct” that occurred between Janks and Merriman during her teenage years, which the attorney said affected her reaction to the prospect of Merriman returning home from the medical facility and realizing she had discovered the pictures on his computer.
Carlos said there were family members and friends she could have relied upon for help, but she “panicked.”
Janks told Superior Court Judge Robert Kearney on Monday that Merriman “exerted influence” upon her after coming into her life at an early age. She alleged that influence eventually “manifested” into coercion and psychological manipulation.
Regarding the days surrounding Merriman’s death, Janks said, “I’m sorry I didn’t act the way I was supposed to that day. I think about it every day since.”
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