A three-judge panel will spend the next several months reviewing hundreds of pages of transcripts, court documents, and exhibits before deciding whether Jason Jones will receive the death penalty for the 2022 killings of four Laurel, Nebraska residents. The judges — Bryan Meismer of Madison County, Patrick Heng of McCook, and Timothy Burns of Omaha — received exhibits Thursday during a death penalty mitigation hearing. Sentencing is set for April 10th in Cedar County District Court.
Jones, 45, was convicted by a Dakota County jury in September 2024 of four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of using a firearm to commit a felony, and two counts of arson for the killings of Michele Ebeling and three members of the Twiford family — Gene, Janet, and their daughter Dana — on August 4th, 2022. Jurors also determined aggravating factors existed, making the case eligible for capital punishment.
Jones waived his appearance at Thursday’s hearing. His attorney, Todd Lancaster of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, argued that several mitigating factors should prevent a death sentence, including Jones’ lack of significant criminal history, mental strain, military background, and claims that he acted under coercion. Additional mitigating evidence included psychological evaluations, Veterans Administration records, and documentation of Jones’ behavior while incarcerated.
Prosecutors urged the judges to consider all evidence before making their decision.
The judges will review written arguments from both sides over the next several months. A death sentence requires a unanimous decision; otherwise, Jones will receive life in prison without parole.
Investigators linked Jones to the murders using gas receipts, surveillance video, DNA, fingerprints, and ballistic evidence from two of his firearms. He was arrested a day after the killings, found severely burned and unable to move. His trial was moved out of Cedar County due to concerns about finding an impartial jury.
Jones did not contest killing the Twifords but claimed mental breakdown, and the defense argued his wife, Carrie Jones, killed Ebeling. Carrie was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole for aiding and abetting her husband in the attacks.
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