A California woman was convicted Wednesday of murdering her stepfather after she found nude photos of herself on his computer.
After a day of deliberation, a San Diego County jury has found interior designer Jade Junks, 39, guilty of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said Junks drugged his stepfather Tom Merriman and strangled him on December 31, 2020.
Junks looked stunned when the verdict was read as he looked at the defense attorney.
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Prosecutors alleged that Junks planned Merriman’s murder after finding hundreds of nude photos on Merriman’s computer.
San Diego County Courthouse. A San Diego County jury found Jade Junks, 39, guilty of first-degree murder for murdering his stepfather, Tom Merriman.
(San Diego County Superior Court)
Her attorney said the images were organized by body parts and were taken while Junks was in the shower and elsewhere. The image is of Junks when she was 16, she reports CBS8.
Junks allegedly texted a friend on the day Merriman died. One read, “I just gave him hell,” while another said, “It’s almost over.”
Junks testified about the moment he found the image.
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“It was the most treacherous, terrible, chest-tightening feeling I’ve ever had. I felt sick and I couldn’t even touch my own skin. I don’t know if it was there. . [are] I’ve never seen anything this bad, even in a movie. ”
Junks faces 25 years in prison. A public hearing is scheduled for April 3.
