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Woman Convicted of Murdering Stepfather After Discovering Nude Photos of Herself on His Computer
People Magazine ^ | 12/22/2022 | Tristan Balagtas

Posted on 12/22/2022 4:08:24 PM PST by L.A.Justice

A California woman who killed her former stepfather after discovering hundreds of nude images of herself on his computer was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder.

The murderer, Jade Janks, murdered Thomas Merriman, who was one of the founders of Butterfly Farms, a research and education non-profit dedicated to the conservation of butterflies located in Encinitas, Calif., according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Janks faces life in prison

During a weeks-long trial, prosecutors argued Janks, a 39-year-old Solana Beach interior designer, drugged, strangled and suffocated Merriman, 64, with a plastic bag on New Year's Eve 2020, after she stumbled upon racy photos of herself on his computer while cleaning his bedroom following his hospitalization for a fall, The Coast News reports.

(Excerpt) Read more at people.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: california
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To: L.A.Justice

Yeah right. Like that would happen


21 posted on 12/22/2022 4:38:13 PM PST by Nifster (OI see puppy dogs in the clouds )
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To: L.A.Justice

Presuming he was still married to mommy, she could have had a few or more levers to some very profitable blackmail.


22 posted on 12/22/2022 4:42:06 PM PST by LittleBillyInfidel (This tagline has been formatted to fit the screen. Some content has been edited.)
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To: Mr. K

I’m happy with her solution. I would not vote to convict.


Her revenge was extreme. Had he raped her, I would agree. He was a perv and peeped her. He definitely belonged in prison, but I don’t consider it to be a capital offense.


23 posted on 12/22/2022 4:43:36 PM PST by rbg81
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To: Mr. K

Not guilty, not matter what she looks like. She should be saving the State money, not costing them.


24 posted on 12/22/2022 4:45:12 PM PST by Glad2bnuts ("None of the people I know who didn't take take the Jab regrets their decision" ZERO)
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To: Fledermaus

Huge betrayal.


25 posted on 12/22/2022 4:45:33 PM PST by one guy in new jersey
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To: Fledermaus

Yup


26 posted on 12/22/2022 4:49:04 PM PST by Nifster (OI see puppy dogs in the clouds )
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To: Blurb2350
The article doesn’t divulge the source of the fotos, but this bit suggests he was using hidden cameras: “. . . the photos discovered on Merriman’s computer were organized by body part, and included snapshots of Janks in the shower, among other instances, captured as far back as when she was a teen.”

If it were all hidden cameras, then IMO, she walks.

If a woman poses for them or allows someone to take nude photos of herself, tough beans. Don’t be so stupid. Anyone who thinks they’d stay private is a fool.

27 posted on 12/22/2022 4:54:54 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith…)
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To: L.A.Justice

What the hell are “racy” photos in this context? Any racy photos I ever heard of in my 64 years were posed or consented to generally involved lingerie. If the guy bugged her bedroom/ bathroom you sure as hell could tell that that was the source and you sure as hell wouldn’t call them racy.


28 posted on 12/22/2022 5:11:26 PM PST by TalBlack (We have a Christian duty and a patriotic duty. God help us.)
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To: L.A.Justice

How did the stepfather secretly get 100s of nude photos of her naked?

If she is “modeling” or doing “adult films” and he purchased the beaver documentaries legally she should go to jail.


29 posted on 12/22/2022 5:22:08 PM PST by Fai Mao (Stop feeding the beast, and steal its food!)
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To: Sarcazmo

Same for me. Granted I didn’t read the article or do any research but killing a creep pervert parental figure should be grounds for 30 days in jail at most.


30 posted on 12/22/2022 5:25:56 PM PST by wgmalabama (Censored!)
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To: Mr. K

I would. Juries decide guilt, whether the victim deserved it is for the lawyers to argue, not jurors. She murdered him.


31 posted on 12/22/2022 5:31:17 PM PST by bigbob (z)
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To: L.A.Justice

He needed a very severe punishment.


32 posted on 12/22/2022 5:32:05 PM PST by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: neverevergiveup

There must be more to the story.


33 posted on 12/22/2022 5:34:02 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Fai Mao
How did the stepfather secretly get 100s of nude photos of her naked?

"The photos were taken more than a decade ago, consensually, by Janks and her boyfriend, authorities said." It’s unclear how they came into Merriman’s possession."

https://nypost.com/2022/12/10/jade-janks-killed-stepdad-for-keeping-nude-photos-of-her-prosecutors/

34 posted on 12/22/2022 5:39:02 PM PST by tlozo (Better to Die on Your Feet than Live on Your Knees)
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To: tlozo

Thanks the article would not load on the tablet for some reason


35 posted on 12/22/2022 5:45:11 PM PST by Fai Mao (Stop feeding the beast, and steal its food!)
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To: kiryandil

That’s just ... disturbing on a whole other level.


36 posted on 12/22/2022 5:49:27 PM PST by Spacetrucker (George Washington didn't use his freedom of speech to defeat the British - HE SHOT THEM .. WITH GUNS)
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To: Pilgrim's Progress

Good point for a not guilty verdict. The “just like Joe” defense.


37 posted on 12/22/2022 5:51:07 PM PST by wgmalabama (Censored!)
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To: L.A.Justice

I’m comfortable with the murder. That’s one less perv who would most likely be violating little kids. “Hey, Kid. Wanna see my butterflies?”


38 posted on 12/22/2022 5:56:26 PM PST by MayflowerMadam
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To: tlozo

And that’s why she was convicted.🤨


39 posted on 12/22/2022 6:06:52 PM PST by BiteYourSelf ( Earth first, we'll strip mine the other planets later.)
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To: Blurb2350

I don’t see where organizing pictures suggests he used hidden cameras.

The article says some of the pictures were when she was a teen but that could be 18 and 19. It doesn’t say the photos were not publicly available. Another question, was he even her stepfather when she was 18 or 19? Also, were the pictures when she was a teenage the nude ones? She could have posted nude ones when she was 20 or 30. The article presents her in the most favorable light which makes me suspicious. The jury heard the whole story.


40 posted on 12/22/2022 6:06:53 PM PST by alternatives? (The only reason to have an army is to defend your borders.)
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