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HARTINGTON — As Carrie Jones heads to trial this week in the 2022 murder of four Laurel residents, her husband, convicted killer Jason Jones, is fighting to avoid the death penalty.
Jury selection for Carrie Jones’ trial began Monday in Madison County District Court. She stands accused of aiding and abetting in first-degree murder, being an accessory to murder, harboring a fugitive and tampering with evidence.
Her trial was moved from Cedar County to Madison County after Judge Bryan Meismer determined the case had garnered too much publicity in Cedar County for a fair trial to take place.
On Friday, Judge Meismer agreed to schedule a mitigation hearing for Jason Jones on Thursday, Nov. 20, in Cedar County District Court. The hearing will allow Jones’ attorneys the opportunity to present evidence they believe should keep him from being sentenced to death in the murders of Gene Twiford, his wife, Janet, their daughter, Dana, and neighbor, Michele Ebeling.
Prosecutors with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office will also be able to present their own evidence at the hearing in support of a death sentence for Jones.
In September, Jason Jones was convicted of shooting all four victims and then setting their two houses on fire. After convicting Jones, of the murders, jurors determined there were aggravating circumstances in the killings, making Jones eligible for the death penalty.
Meismer and District Judges Timothy Burns of Omaha and Patrick Heng of McCook make up a three-judge panel that will decide whether Jones, 45, is sentenced to death or life in prison without parole. The panel must be unanimous in imposing a sentence of death. That hearing is not expected to take place until some time in 2026.
Based on the number of witnesses planned for the trial, prosecutors believe Carrie Jones trial could last up to three weeks.
The Cedar County News website - Hartington.net will have updates from the trial.
