Sentenced to Death

Jones will face death penalty nearly four years after killing Twifords, Ebeling

HARTINGTON — A three-judge panel ruled Friday afternoon that Jason Jones deserves the death penalty for the August 2022 killings of four Laurel residents.

On Aug. 4, 2022, Jones shot Gene Twiford, his wife, Janet Twiford, their daughter, Dana Twiford, and neighbor, Michele Ebeling.

After the killings, he set fire to both homes in an attempt to destroy evidence. He also accidentally set himself on fire while lighting the houses ablaze.

Cedar County District Court Judge Bryan Meismer read the unanimous decision he rendered with judges Patrick Heng and Timothy Burns.

The panel concluded the aggravating circumstances in the case far outweighed any mitigating factors, resulting in a death sentence on each of the four murder convictions. Under Nebraska law, the panel must be unanimous to impose the death penalty.

“These were terrible, despicable and unforgiving murders,” Judge Meismer said as he read the panel's decision. “The fact four people lost their lives at the hands of the defendant on the night in question — and that a jury found two of the victims were killed in an attempt to conceal the commission of a crime, or to conceal the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator of the crime — was given great weight by this panel.”

Jones appeared in person for the 29-minute hearing in a packed Cedar County courtroom.

This marked the first time the 46-year-old Laurel man had appeared in person in the court room. Lawyers successfully kept him out of past court proceedings as he healed from the third-degree burns he sustained at the time of the crimes.

In September 2024, a jury convicted Jones on 10 counts, including four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of arson and four counts of use of a firearm to commit a felony.

After listing those convictions, Meismer outlined the panel’s reasoning, emphasizing the weight of the aggravating factors compared to those presented by the defense.

Meismer imposed the death penalty on each of the four murder counts. Additional sentencing on the remaining felony convictions was also ordered.

Last August his wife, Carrie Jones, was convicted of murder charges in the death of Gene Twiford. Prosecutors successfully argued that she urged Jason Jones to kill Twiford.

As with any death sentence ruling, the case will now be scheduled for an appeal in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court, Lancaster said. He expects that to be at least a year away, though, he said.

Family members, who sat through every court proceeding in the past threeand- a-half years, said they were relieved the case was over and the harshest sentence possible was issued. Jones will now become the 12th person on Nebraska's death row. After the ruling, representatives from the Twiford and Ebbeling families gathered on the main floor of the courthouse to read prepared statements.

Gene and Janet Twiford's daughter, Gail Curry, said the sentencing brings some legal closure, but does not bring back the people the family loves, nor take away the grief they will forever carry.

“Our loved ones — Gene, Jan and Dana Twiford — were so much more than victims,” Curry said. “They were deeply loved, kind, and the heart of our family. Their absence is felt every single day. They mattered, and they still matter.'