Vehicles are removed from murder suspects' home

LAUREL – Two vehicles were repossessed and moved from the home of a Laurel couple accused of murder.

A repossession company removed two vehicles from the property of Jason and Carrie Jones March 22, said Laurel Police Chief Ron Lundahl.

“We checked with the attorney general’s office and there was no hold on the vehicles as far as evidence and they were free to take them,” he said.

Two other vehicles remain at the Jones home in Laurel, including a Hummer H3 and Mustang. One of the vehicles repossessed was a Jeep. Lundahl couldn’t recall the make of the other vehicle removed.

Jason and Carrie Jones are both facing murder charges in the deaths of four of their Laurel neighbors – Gene Twiford, Janet Twiford, Dana Twiford and Michele Shankles-Ebeling on Aug. 4, 2022.

First responders were called to Shankles-Ebeling’s home at 209 Elm St., Laurel, around 3 a.m. Aug. 4 to the report of an explosion and house fire. About five hours later, local law enforcement on scene noticed smoke coming from the Twiford home just a few blocks away. Although the presence of smoke wasn’t evident for several hours, evidence suggests that the Twiford fire actually started first.

All of the victims were found to have gunshot wounds.

Jones was apprehended at his home the morning after the murders with severe burns over his body and was treated at a Lincoln hospital for several weeks before being released to the Nebraska Department of Corrections.

While Jason Jones is considered the principal offender, under Nebraska statutes, Carrie Jones can be found guilty as well if she aided and encouraged him to carry out the killing, according to the attorney general’s office.

At Carrie Jones’ preliminary hearing, investigators testified that she was motivated to murder Twiford after years of his verbal harassment.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against her husband.

Carrie Jones’ next court date is set for June where her lawyers are set to argue several motions including one to suppress statements she made to law enforcement.

In the motion, Jones’ lawyer, Doug Stratton, Norfolk, claims statements made by Jones were not freely and voluntarily given and were coerced by threats and promises of leniency. He also claims statements were given without her having been informed of her constitutional rights.

Stratton also filed a motion for discovery which included requesting additional details regarding the potential testimony or statement by a jailhouse informant.

A motion for supplemental juror questionnaires was also submitted in the case.

Carrie Jones was moved to the Boone County Jail March 23. She had been housed at the Antelope County Jail since her arrest in December 2022.

Sheriff Larry Koranda indicated Antelope County “needed a break” but didn’t specify why Jones was moved.

It’s unknown how long she will be housed in Boone County.

Koranda has previously said that Cedar County’s jail is not equipped or staffed to accommodate female inmates. Instead, Carrie Jones was housed at Antelope County at a charge of $50 per day. Boone County is charging the county $65 per day.

Jason Jones has been held at the Nebraska Department of Corrections since his release from the hospital. The state correctional facility charges $90 per day. Koranda has said previously that Jason Jones is being held there due to closer proximity to doctor’s appointments and for security reasons.

Jason Jones’ case has been set for trial in September, however, his lawyer has argued for a change of venue. Cedar County District Court judge Bryan Meismer has yet to make a ruling on the issue.

In other court news: - Mark Dowling, 55, Wynot, was sentenced in Cedar County Court to 12 months of probation on a misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury. A felony first-degree assault charge was dismissed. Dowling was arrested after law enforcement responded to a domestic disturbance at his home Feb. 15. The arrest stems from a prior domestic assault occurring in mid-December in which a woman broke her leg.

- Austin Warburton, 19, formerly of Laurel, was sentenced in Stanton County District Court to a $1,000 fine and license revoked for 90 days on a reduced charge of operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, and a $500 fine on a reduced charge of reckless driving. Warburton was driving a motorcycle when he reportedly fled a traffic stop in Wayne County near Hoskins Oct. 19.

A pursuit was initiated but Warburton continued to flee at high rates of speed and at times driving against oncoming traffic.

The motorcycle was eventually abandoned and Warburton fled on foot.

About 45 minutes after the initial traffic stop, he was apprehended.