The jury in Dakota County District Court has reached a verdict in the trial of Jason Jones, who was accused of the murder of four residents of Laurel on Aug. 4, 2022.
After 10 days of trial, the 12-member jury spent just over seven hours over Tuesday night and Wednesday morning to reach a verdict on the 10 felony charges Jason Jones is facing.
The findings of the jury include:
1st-degree murder of Michele Ebeling: GUILTY;
1st-degree murder of Gene Twiford: GUILTY;
1st-degree murder of Janet Twiford: GUILTY;
1st-degree murder of Dana Twiford: GUILTY;
2nd-degree arson (Ebeling home): GUILTY (initially charged with 1st-degree arson);
2nd-degree arson (Twiford home): GUILTY (initially charged with 1st-degree arson);
Count 1 use of a firearm to commit a felony: GUILTY;
Count 2 use of a firearm to commit a felony: GUILTY;
Count 3 use of a firearm to commit a felony: GUILTY;
Count 4 use of a firearm to commit a felony: GUILTY.
Jones’ defense team was seeking lesser charges for the murders, saying Jones was suffering from a “mental break” at the time he killed the Twifords and it was not premeditated, which is a requirement for the 1st-degree murder charge.
