Murder plot revealed in Calif. woman's text messages: "I just dosed the hell out of him"
CBSN
It was Jan. 1, 2021, when the San Diego Sheriff's Department got a call from a man saying his friend, Jade Janks, might have killed her stepfather, Tom Merriman. CALLER (to San Diego County Sheriff's Dept.): Well, I've got a situation, last night … A friend of mine asked me to come over. She said that she had possibly killed her stepdad … CALLER: I don't know if she really did this. CALLER (to San Diego County Sheriff's Dept.): I'm scared to death ... I don't want to be part of this … I didn't have anything to do with her … CALLER (to San Diego County Sheriff's Dept.): It sounds like she killed this guy. ADAM SIPLYAK: … and asked me to move the body with her … ADAM SIPLYAK (to San Diego County Sheriff's Dept.): … she said she had possibly killed her stepdad ... JADA JANKS TEXT: Stopping at Dixieland to stall.
Assistant district attorneys Jorge Del Portillo and Teresa Pham tell "48 Hours" correspondent Tracy Smith that the caller "told sheriff's deputies she confessed to drugging him, suffocating him and strangling him to death." CALLER:I stewed on this all night ... I barely slept … and I'm scared to death … I don't want to be part of this … I didn't have anything to do with her … DISPATCHER: OK.
The call triggered a search for Merriman. His body was soon found, and Janks was arrested and charged with his murder. But she said she was innocent. ADAM SIPLYAK: I said, "I can't help you" … and I never saw the body.
