Interior designer murdered former stepfather for keeping nude photos of her, prosecutor says – Law Officer

VISTA, Calif. – A woman who works as an interior designer is accused of drugging and strangling her former stepfather after discovering nude photos of herself on his computer, according to prosecutors.

Jade Janks, 39, shared a home with her one-time stepfather, Thomas Merriman, 64, in Solana Beach, California, a coastal community about 22 miles north of San Diego. Merriman was long divorced from Janks’ mother, but she still helped him out. His body was discovered under a pile of trash in a driveway near their home on South Nardo Avenue on January 2, 2021. Janks was subsequently charged with his death, reported The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The murder trial of Janks, an interior designer who also co-founded the research nonprofit Butterfly Farms, began last Wednesday in Vista Superior Court.

Prosecutors allege Jade Janks killed her stepfather “by design.” (Facebook)

Prosecutors alleged Merriman died of an overdose of sleeping pills Janks gave to him after she discovered the photos — one of which he reportedly used as his screensaver. She pleaded not guilty to the homicide, according to the Union-Tribune.

San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Jorge Del Portillo said, “This was no accident. This was murder by design.”

The prosecutor said Merriman died New Year’s Eve 2020, within hours after Janks picked him up from a care facility where he had been rehabbing following a fall.

The nude pictures were taken with Janks’ consent more than a decade ago by her boyfriend, authorities said. It’s unclear how Merriman obtained possession of them.

Janks discovered the revealing pics while she was cleaning her stepdad’s apartment during his hospitalization, Del Portillo noted.

Interior designer Jade Janks co-founded the research nonprofit Butterfly Farms. Her murder trial began last week in Vista Superior Court. (@jadejanksinteriors)

Prosecutors contend the defendant texted another man about giving Merriman the pills, the New York Post reported. 

“I just dosed the hell out of him. Stopping for whiskey then at Dixieland to stall. LMK,” Janks reportedly texted the day she picked Merriman up from the hospital, Del Portillo asserted.

In another text message shared by prosecutors, Janks seemed uncertain about the alleged plan.

“He’s waking up,” one text reportedly read, according to NBC San Diego. “I really don’t want to be the one to do this.”

“I am about to club him on the head as he is waking up,” another read.

Prosecutors said Janks eventually called another person for assistance, but that person called law enforcement authorities the next day.

Deputies with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department then searched the location and found Merriman’s body under a pile of boxes, blankets and other trash.

Attorneys for Janks argued that she did not kill Merriman, who instead died from poor health and “his own cocktail” of drugs.

“You will not find any evidence that he was strangled to death,” Janks’ attorney, Marc Carlos told the jury.

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