[click] [no audio] [no audio] ♫♩ ♪ You want it all, but you can't have it ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ It's in your face, but you can't grab it ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ NARRATOR: According to friends and family, 39-year-old Jade Sasha Janks is quirky, intelligent, and congenial. Throughout her life, she's been devoted to her friends, family, and career. But, above all, her greatest passion is interior design. After working for her father's kitchen design firm, she finally achieved her dream of starting her own enterprise. She owns and operates a thriving business in San Diego named Jade Janks Interiors. As she approached middle age, Jade appeared to have hit her stride, and was comfortably situated. Yet there's one more thing you should know about her. According to prosecutors, Jade Janks flew into a rage before drugging, suffocating, and strangling her former stepfather on New Year's Eve of 2020. [dramatic music] NARRATOR: This is a case about the decisions people make when confronted with adversity. Of course, a single mistake can have harmful consequences. But a failure to learn from past missteps can result in a cycle of poor decision-making. And that can turn a once manageable issue into a catastrophic situation. To that end, let's dive in to the story of Jade Sasha Janks. MAN'S VOICE: [sing-songy] You're so sweet, you make my heart go pitter-patter. [laughing] Just like my corn-shucking machine. Buh-bum. Buh-bum. Bah-buum. [laughing] [no audio] NARRATOR: Solana Beach, California, is a coastal community 22 miles (35.4 km) north of San Diego that has a population of 12,941 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. It is known for its walkability, beach proximity, and the Cedros Design District. It is a section of Solana Beach that attracts home renovation and design professionals. This is where Jade lived and worked. Jade was raised in San Diego and studied at MiraCosta College and San Diego Mesa College. Her biological father, Steve Janks, is a native of South Africa and resides in southern California. Following the divorce of her biological parents, Jade's mother married a man named Thomas Merriman. [no audio] THOMAS: It's resting, or it's flying. REPORTER: Tagging will help local officials learn more about local monarch populations, which are struggling because of lack of habitat. Tom Merriman is the director of Butterfly Farms. He says the experience is invaluable for the kids. THOMAS: A lotta these kids, these are- don't have back yards. Y'know, they live in higher density housing. So they don't get to see what we have here so often. They're ecstatic. I mean, there's nothing- It's a fun place to be. NARRATOR: 64-year-old Thomas Merriman co-founded Butterfly Farms, a well-known research and education nonprofit. Thomas has dedicated his life to the conservation and study of native butterflies. As such, he enjoyed some status within the local community. However, back at home, he was persona non grata. Thomas's relationship with Jade's mother was often combative and antagonistic. As a result, there were police encounters and the use of the court system to resolve disputes. Ultimately, three divorce petitions were filed in 2002, 2006, and 2008. The third attempt was successful. According to information in court documents, Jade was 11 years old when her mother married Thomas in 1995. Jade viewed Thomas as a father figure. She later testified that she had a loving relationship with her stepfather in her 20s, but at some point they drifted apart. Jade characterized her relationship with Thomas as that of a caretaker. For example, she would tend to wounds and buy medicine if he got sick. In 2020, when the apartment next door to his on Nardo Avenue had become vacant, Jade moved in. It was a highly desirable area, and ideally located close to work. A few days before New Year's Eve in 2020, Thomas fell and sustained injuries that required hospitalization. He spent one night in the hospital before transferring to a rehabilitation center. When he was ready to come home, Jade was there to assist. On New Year's Eve, she drove to pick him up, but this time something was troubling Jade. She was not her usual self. Several days earlier, Jade had been cleaning Thomas's apartment when she accidentally tapped his computer mouse, waking the computer from its sleep mode. That's when she noticed a nude photo of herself set as his desktop wallpaper. It was a picture that a former boyfriend had taken with her consent. Jade was shocked and extremely upset. She testified that she had found hundreds of scantily clad photos of herself on Thomas's computer, and that he had cropped those photos and divided them into subfolders based on body parts. Some images go as far back as when she was 16. In the days after the discovery, Jade made several calls to friends, ostensibly to voice her concerns. One former friend of Jade testified that Jade had told her about the wallpaper but contended there would be no consequences for Thomas. Jade was described as heartbroken, shocked, and distressed on New Year's Eve. [no audio] On the afternoon of New Year's Day, 2021, sheriff's deputies arrived at Thomas's apartment to do a welfare check. Evidently, a friend of Jade -- whom we will call Mr. Smith -- contacted deputies after she allegedly told him she had suffocated her stepfather hours earlier. He claims she then asked to help make it appear as though Thomas had overdosed. Police searched the residence and discovered Thomas's body outside his home, hidden under a pile of trash next to the garage. Jade was taken into custody and immediately lawyered up. REPORTER: ...fact find nude pictures of herself on her stepfather's computer? CARLOS: Hundreds. Hundreds of them. Yes. I mean they found, she was cleaning his apartment and found them. And so the question is, is that sufficient motive to kill your stepfather. I mean, I suggest that it's not. I mean it's something you can talk to him about, but certainly not kill somebody that you love. NARRATOR: After being charged with murder during a remote video arraignment on January 12th, Jade entered a plea of not guilty. At a bond hearing on February 17th, prosecutors argued Jade was a flight risk due to her connections with South Africa and the economic resources to flee. After considering the seriousness of the crime, the likelihood of conviction, and flight risk, bail was set by the judge at 1 million dollars. Jade posted bail with conditions that she wear a GPS ankle bracelet and surrender her passport. Six days later, a preliminary hearing was held to determine whether there was enough probable cause to warrant a trial. The prosecution presented several witnesses to testify. Detective Lisa Brannan was the first to take the stand. She said she interviewed Mr. Smith, who initially reported the crime to the police. Detective Brannan said according to Mr. Smith, Jade called him on New Year's Eve around noon. Jade told Smith that Thomas was in her SUV on drugs, and that she needed help getting him into the house. Seven hours later, Mr. Smith arrived at her residence. Mr. Smith claimed that Jade told him she had found pictures of herself on Thomas's computer. At some point that evening, Jade admitted to Mr. Smith that she murdered Thomas. According to Detective Brannan, Miss Janks told Mr. Smith that she killed her stepfather as she said, "I suffocated with a bag and I choked him." She also said that she gave him a bunch of drugs. Detective Brannan further stated Mr. Smith said he refused to help Jade. He then smoked a cigarette with Jade, hugged, and kissed her before leaving. Raymond Gary, a San Diego County Crime Lab toxicologist, testified next. He stated Thomas had an unusually high level of zolpidem, a sleeping drug known as Ambien, in his system. The hearing ended when the judge determined sufficient probable cause to go to trial. As the district attorney's office prepared to go to trial, they set out to prove that Jade Janks intended to kill Thomas Merriman. They believed the motive was Jade's discovery that Thomas had used a stolen nude picture of her as his computer wallpaper. Meanwhile, the Solana Beach community was surprised to learn of the charges against Jade. After all, as the local newspaper, the Del Mar Times reported in an article dated February 18, 2021, the well-known interior designer had no criminal record and 60 people had provided positive character references on her behalf for the bail hearing. So, could it be that her past held clues about her current predicament? [no audio] Generally speaking, prosecutors cannot use the accused's past crimes as proof that the accused committed a crime they are being charged with, unless the defendant testifies on their own behalf. This is because introducing prior convictions increases the probability of the jury pre-judging the defendant as a "bad person" who is likely to have committed the offense. However, this is not an absolute rule. It can be challenged, and decisions to allow past convictions as evidence are up to the judge's discretion. According to an article published by the San Diego Reader in January of 2021, Thomas Merriman was accused of rape in 1994. This allegedly occurred the year before he married Jade's mother. Thomas testified at his own trial, and the jury found him not guilty of four felony rape charges. The article states he was found guilty of a lesser offense of battery. 38-year-old Thomas served 90 days in local custody for that conviction. The woman who was allegedly battered later won a 50 thousand dollar civil suit against Thomas. The same article by the San Diego Reader disclosed a legal proceeding between Thomas and his then-wife, Jade's mother. According to the court filing, Thomas alleged that on Christmas Day 2002, Jade's mother threw all of Jade's belongings -- clothing, toiletries, paintings, etcetera -- off the second-floor balcony into the parking lot. "She is increasingly violent and verbally abusive." In addition, Thomas accused Jade's mother of abusing alcohol and possibly meth. He said of his wife, "She's been ransacking the house and is delusional. She has been smashing things and slamming doors and throwing things and putting holes in the walls. She sleeps all day and stays up all night." According to a declaration, Jade's mother responded, "I suffer from depression; however, I am under the care of a therapist and psychiatrist. I caught my husband using meth in the garage and in an awkward position with Jade, my daughter from a previous relationship." She claimed that her daughter used heroin and stated, "I told Jade that she could live at home if she remained sober. When I found drug paraphernalia in the home, I threw her items out." The same San Diego Reader article alleges Jade has had her share of run-ins with the law as well. Her past includes multiple arrests including for drug charges and possession of stolen goods. At the age of 24, Jade was indicted on possession of stolen IDs. She had taken the identification of at least 10 individuals during a string of burglaries. Additionally, the article alleges she had in her possession a loaded handgun. [no audio] During opening arguments, the prosecution contended that Jade began to plot Thomas's murder after she discovered her nude photo on his computer. They cited evidence including testimony from two witnesses. One witness claimed Jade called him and directly asked him to strangle Thomas. The other, Mr. Smith, testified Jade admitted to strangling her stepfather herself on New Year's Eve, 2020. In addition, the prosecutor stated she did not call 911 after allegedly finding Thomas's body, instead choosing to hide the body and then lie to officers. They also presented to the court text messages that Jade allegedly sent to various friends on the day of the incident. The first message presented to the jury read, "I just dosed the hell out of him." Jade was then cross-examined by the prosecutor. [click click] An important caveat: In every criminal proceeding, the accused has the constitutional right to testify or to remain silent. Yet, most defense lawyers would advise their client against testifying. This is because, in almost all cases, the better defense strategy is to force the state to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Simply put, don't beat yourself. The most significant risk of testifying is, it opens the door to cross-examination. For example, if the accused has a prior criminal record, that could then be used to question the accused's truthfulness. Also, most defendants would struggle to remain calm and articulate under harsh scrutiny from a seasoned prosecutor. Lastly, you must consider optics. Will the defendant come across as open, honest, and likeable? As you view the footage of Jade Janks testifying, ask yourself: Does she appear credible to you? Is she helping or hurting her cause? PROSECUTOR: Someone says "I dosed the hell out of him," you would agree with me that that means someone gave another person a whole lot of drugs. Right? JANKS: I- I would, but that's not really- I mean, um, I have other messages other people, that's kinda, uh.... Mmm... I phrase- I guess it's a poor phrasing. NARRATOR: The prosecutor presented to the jury a few more text messages sent by Jade on New Year's Eve. These read, "Stopping for whiskey at Dixieland to stall. Let me know." "He's waking up. I really don't want to be the one to do this." "I can't carry him alone and I can't keep a kicking body in my trunk." "I am about to club him on the head as he is waking up." "I'm not strong enough. He is very aware now and I am on my own." Deputy District Attorney Jorge Del Portillo stated that the evidence would show, "This was no accident. This was murder by design." [no audio] Jade's defense lawyer, Marc Carlos, set out to attack the state's two key points: That Jade intended to kill Thomas, and did so by drugging, suffocating, and then stranglinghim. First, he argued, this was not a murder; rather, Carlos stated Thomas's death was a consequence of his alcoholism, poor health, and attempts to self-medicate. Additionally, Carlos restated the lack of evidence for strangulation. "The medical examiner will not tell you it was strangulation. The science does not support strangulation," Carlos told jurors. In fact, he reminded the jury, the coronor concluded Thomas died of acute Ambien poisoning. Carlos then called Jade to the stand for direct questioning. She was asked about the nature of her relationship with Thomas Merriman. JANKS: You know, he'll call me one day, say, "Let's do dinner on Tuesday next week." I've always been a caretaker for Mr. Merriman, so. CARLOS: What does that mean? JANKS: Um... Anytime something would go wrong, when we lived together before and then after I moved there, if he hurt himself I'd go get bandages. If he was sick I'd go get soup. If he needed a ride to the doctor, I took him. CARLOS: Did you share medication? JANKS: I have. Yes. CARLOS: When I say 'share medication,' I mean with Mr. Merriman. JANKS: Yes. Most of the time it was... Even if he'd ask me for a medication or I'd tell him to try something.... Yeah, I did. CARLOS: Okay. Did you ever use any of his medications? JANKS: No. CARLOS: Did you see anything in his conduct with you that concerns you at all? JANKS: No. I- It's a little bit confusing to explain. So, Tom- while not inappropriate with me, I've never... I've trusted him more than anybody. I've been comfortable. But there's always something kinda... skeezy. I just, I couldn't understand anything he was saying. There was no conversation. He couldn't hear me. So I told him when he'd sobered up, y'know, not to come over that messed up. 'Cause there's no point. NARRATOR: Next, Jade was asked how she learned of the nude photos. JANKS: I went to clean in his office area. [sniffs] I was kind of wiping things down, and I bumped the mouse on his desktop computer, and it shook the screen awake. And I looked, and there's a picture of female breasts on the screen, and- [sniffles] I have- I have a beauty mark on my chest, and I look and tho- those are my breasts. It was the most violating.... Just awful, gut-wrenching feeling ever. I felt- [sniffles] I felt sick. I felt.... I couldn't... I couldn't, like... I couldn't even touch my own skin. CARLOS: Did you love Tom? JANKS: [crying] Yes. CARLOS: Did Tom love you? JANKS: [crying] Yes. NARRATOR: Jade claimed that she never confronted her former stepfather about the hundreds of photos of her allegedly found on his computer, as unfortunately, he died before she could do that. Jade explained that when she last saw Thomas on New Year's Eve, he had fallen asleep in the back of her SUV due to a mix of pills and whiskey. When she couldn't get anyone to assist her with Thomas, she left the vehicle in her driveway overnight with Thomas still in the back seat. However, she panicked when she checked on him the next day and realized he was dead. Jade added that she feared being blamed for his death, since she was with him last and had destroyed his computer days before. "I didn't want to get blamed for killing him," Janks told a Vista Superior Court jury. Jade also testified that the text messages were taken out of context, as she explained she needed assistance getting Thomas out of her car and into his home. With no help coming, she decided to leave him in her car, as he had slept off drunken episodes before. The following morning, after she realized he was dead, she covered him with blankets and empty boxes before telling unsuspecting neighbors she would come back to clean up the pile. After closing arguments were completed, the jurors received their instructions. Then, they retreated to the jury room to deliberate on a verdict. The defense felt confident about their position as there was no evidence of strangulation. In addition, the defense felt the prosecution's alleged motive -- killing a person over nude photos -- was implausible. But, on the other hand, there was devastating witness testimony and text message evidence. The prosecution believed Jade Janks had the motive, means, and the opportunity to murder Thomas. [no audio] CLERK: Superior Court of the state of California, for the county of San Diego, the People of the State of California, plaintiff vs. Jade Sasha Janks, defendant. Case number SCN420772. Verdict, count one, first-degree murder. We the jury, in the above entitled cause, find the defendant, Jade Sasha Janks, guilty of the crime of murder in violation of penal code section 187, subsection A, a felony, as charged in count one of the amended information, and fix the degree thereof as murder in the first degree. Dated today's date, signed the foreperson. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, was this and is this your verdict as read? JURORS: Yes. JUDGE: Alrigh, does either side wish to have the jury polled? PROSECUTOR: No, Your Honor. CARLOS: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE: Alright. Madam Clerk, could you please poll the jury? CLERK: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, please answer with a "yes" or "no" answer only. As to count one, first degree murder, was this and is this your verdict as read? Juror number one. JUROR 1: Yes. CLERK: Number two. JUROR 2: Yes. CLERK: Number three. JUROR 3: Yes. CLERK: Number four. JUROR 4: Yes. CLERK: Number five? JUROR 5: Yes. CLERK: Number six. JUROR 6: Yes. CLERK: Number seven. JUROR 7: Yes. CLERK: Number eight? JUROR 8: Yes. CLERK: Number nine. JUROR 9: Yes. CLERK: Number ten. JUROR 10: Yes. CLERK: Number eleven. JUROR 11: Yes. CLERK: Number twelve. JUROR 12: Yes. CLERK: Your Honor, I record twelve affirmative responses. JUDGE: Alright, Madam Clerk, please record your verdict. [sound of self-inking stamp k-chunking] CLERK: So recorded, Your Honor. JUDGE: Counsel, do you waive reading of the verdict as recorded? PROSECUTOR: Yes, Your Honor. CARLOS: Yes, Your Honor. [no audio] JUDGE: I do believe that in light of the verdict at this time she will be remand to the custody of the sheriff's department. [no audio] NARRATOR: Jade Janks faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison at a hearing set for April 3rd, 2023. Jade faced many pivotal decisions from the end of 2020 to the trial in 2022. Among them was how to handle the fact that her former stepfather possessed intimate photos of her. Another critical decision was whether to testify at trial on her behalf. After the verdict, Jade's attorney was asked whether testifying was in her best interests. REPORTER: There was no evidence of strangulation in this case. CARLOS: Yeah. REPORTER: Can you elaborate a little bit on that? CARLOS: Well that's, that was the theory the prosecution was, she had suffocated him and that- I mean, had drugged him and then strangled him. We didn't really didn't have evidence of that, but clearly their evidence didn't merit that either. So, at the end of the day, the jury just, I think, went with the text messages. REPORTER: Do you think it was in her best interests to take the stand? CARLOS: You know, whenever somebody's in a situation where they're looking at a lot of time in custody, they want to tell their story. So. I don't think it was any worse for her. So. That's it. REPORTER: Thank you. NARRATOR: What are your thoughts on this case? Do you think the jury got it right? Do you believe the prosecution's theory that Jade murdered her former stepfather over photos or do you think there's more to this story? As usual, feel free to share your thoughts below. [dramatic music] ◢ Captioned by: Pineapples Foster Media Services ◣ ◹ pineapples.foster@gmail.com ◸