San Diego interior designer Jade Janks accused of killing stepdad over nude ... trends now
A San Diego interior designer is on trial for murdering her butterfly farm-owning ex-stepdad after catching him using a stolen nude photo of her as his screensaver.
Jade Janks, 39, is accused of drugging, suffocating and strangling Thomas Merriman, 64, in San Diego on New Year's Eve 2020. She denies murder.
Janks, who runs a successful interior design firm, was described by prosecutors as being 'beyond freaked out' after she found multiple naked images of herself in Merriman's home, one of which he was even using as a computer screensaver.
Records show that Janks' mother divorced Merriman in 2008 after multiple instances of domestic abuse, although Janks and Merriman maintained a relationship.
Deputy District Attorney Jorge Del Portillo said: 'This was no accident. This was murder by design.' In court, it was alleged that Janks suffocated Merriman with a plastic bag.
However, Janks' attorney, Marc Carlos, says that Thomas Merriman, 64, the co-founder of a popular butterfly farm in Encinitas, died due to ill health and his own cocktail of sleeping pills. His body was found under a pile of trash outside of his home on January 2.
She has pleaded not guilty to murder. If convicted, Janks could face life in prison.
Jade Janks, who operated an interior design business in San Diego, allegedly drugged, suffocated and strangled her stepdad after discovering he was in possession of nude photos of her
Carlos said: 'The medical examiner will not tell you it was strangulation. The science does not support strangulation.' The official cause of death was acute intoxication, reports the San Diego Union Tribune.
The attorney went on to say accuse Merriman of being an alcoholic who was addicted to pills.
Carlos also said: 'Jade Janks loved her stepfather. Tom Merriman loved Jade Janks. Unfortunately, Tom Merriman was a troubled individual, and he loved her in different ways.'
Merriman's body was found under trash bags by police outside of his home in Solano Beach. Officers had gone to the home to conduct a welfare check.
Prosecutors say that Janks told others that she killed Merriman. Despite the fact that her mother had long since divorced Merriman, the pair were still close.
Thomas Merriman, pictured here, was recovering from injuries sustained after a fall when he died
Janks maintains her innocence with her lawyers arguing that Merriman died as a result of his own addiction to drugs and alcohol
Merriman was returning home on New Year's Eve after he was hospitalized due to a fall. Janks had picked him from a care facility. Her lawyer said that when he left the facility, he was given a supply of various pills.
A few days earlier, Janks was cleaning in Merriman's apartment when she bumped into his computer, waking it. That's when she saw a nude photo that she had taken years previously as his screensaver.
The prosecutor said that the discovery of the pics left her 'distraught' and 'disturbed to the core.'
A former friend of Janks', Sarah Jacobs, testified that the suspect told her about the photo but said that didn't indicate that Merriman would face any repercussions. Jacobs described the photo as showing Janks 'scantily clad.'
Her lawyers say that the pictures were taken consensually with a boyfriend years previously. It's not clear how Merriman obtained the photos.
From there, prosecutors allege, Janks began hatching a plot to kill her stepdad.
The prosecutor said that the discovery of the nude pics left Janks 'distraught' and 'disturbed to the core
A few days before he was released from the hospital, Janks was cleaning in Merriman's apartment when she bumped into his computer, waking it. That's when she saw a nude photo that she had taken years previously as his screensaver
In court this week, prosecutors showed messages that Janks sent to friends, one read: 'I just dosed the hell out of him. Stopping for whiskey at Dixieland to stall. LMK'
This week, prosecutors showed text messages in court that Janks sent to various
