Prosecutors done laying out case against woman accused of aiding quadruple murder

Prosecutors have finished laying out their evidence against Carrie Jones, accused of aiding and abetting one of the four murders committed by her husband, Jason, in Laurel, Nebraska.

It's yet to be determined whether evidence presented by the defense in the coming days will help or hurt Carrie Jones' case in the eyes of the jury.

In opening statements to the jury presented last week, Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Sandra Allen told the jurors that even if evidence indicates "Carrie Jones did not pull the trigger" the night Gene Twiford died, "she pulled the strings that led to his death."

Nebraska law, Allen noted, says someone "commanding" a murder is as guilty as someone who actually commits the murder.

Jones' defense team argues the evidence does not show the murders took place with the encouragement of Carrie Jones. She faces a potential life sentence in prison.

The murders and related arson fires shook tiny Cedar County. The case has the full attention of residents in the northeast corner of the state.

Last fall, a jury in Dakota County convicted Jason Jones of four counts of first-degree murder. The jury determined the crime warranted the death penalty. A three-judge panel will hear testimony on his sentence in November.

On Aug. 4, 2022, Jones shot and killed Twiford, 86, his wife, Janet, and their adult daughter, Dana, in their home. The same night, Jones also shot and killed a neighbor, Michele Ebeling. Jones set their homes on fire. He set himself on fire in the process, causing critical burns over much of his body.

Attorneys with the state Attorney General's office hoped to show Carrie Jones, 46, pushed her husband to kill Gene Twiford because she was outraged by what she felt were inappropriate public comments made by the 86-year-old. Additional charges include hiding evidence and interfering with the police investigation of all four homicides.

Much of the evidence heard by the jury detailed the physical evidence and circumstances that linked Jason Jones to the shooting deaths of all four victims and the arson fires that followed.

During the investigation, police recorded several encounters with Carrie Jones in which her account of the events on the night of the murders evolved and shifted in content and tone.

A neighbor who called in the fire at the Ebeling residence in the early morning hours was "surprised" that the couple appeared outside the burning home. At the time, Carrie did not seem to acknowledge Jason, but later claimed her husband was "trying to help" when he saw the fire.

Jurors watched a video of a conversation between Laurel Police Chief Ron Lundahl and Carrie Jones, standing on her porch. As she talked about being at the fire scene, Lundahl was unaware Jason was inside the house, apparently in shock, suffering from massive third-degree burns.

Shortly after the interview, firefighters discovered the second crime scene at Twiford's home.

Later, the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team prepared to storm the Jones home and arrest Jason. An officer called Carrie as she was driving back to Laurel, hoping she could get him to answer his phone.

In the recorded call, jurors heard Carrie Jones tell the officer, "He won't answer the phone. He won't answer the door. He's not going to be able to answer. He's burned up."

She goes on to angrily claim the NSP would likely cause the man's death by delaying treatment of his burns.

The prosecution team rested its case on Wednesday morning.

In his opening remarks, defense attorney Doug Stratton acknowledged to jurors that they might "think she's a bad wife and a bad person, but I ask you to hear all the evidence" before deciding if she is guilty of a crime.

The fact that the trial coincided with the third anniversary of the murders added an eerie element to the proceedings.

District Court Judge Bryan Meismer ordered the trial convened in Madison County to minimize the impact of pre-trial publicity.