Palo woman accused of killing stepmom denies suffocating her, blames boyfriend

VINTON — Samantha Bevans, accused of suffocating her stepmother with a pillow, testified Thursday that her boyfriend at the time was controlling her and that he was the one who killed Jodie Bevans on July 14, 2022.

Samantha Bevans, 35, of Palo, was animated, speaking loudly at times during her testimony in Benton County District Court.

She said the Snapchat video she made confessing to killing Jodie Bevans, 58, of Palo, was made to get a reaction out of Tacoa Talley, her boyfriend, who also abused her.

Talley was acting “quiet and calm,” which was out of character for him, in the video, Bevans testified. She was angry at him and wasn’t bragging about killing Jodie, she said.

She said she didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t and that she was trying to get Talley to say something about what he did.

Bevans said Talley “manipulated” her mind and made her think things were unreal throughout their relationship. She said Talley hacked her phone and withheld it from her.

When Talley, in the Snapchat video, said he knew “this would happen,” Bevans said he was referring to her making a video because she did it all the time. She wasn’t happy about Jodie’s killing — something she said more than once.

In the video, Bevans says, “I killed her. I killed her myself,” as Talley, encourages her to “keep going.’ ”

“And I knew this would happen, so good job,” Talley said.

“We killed her,” Samantha says in the video, then makes an obscene gesture to the camera.

Bevans is charged with first-degree murder and is claiming diminished responsibility.

Closing statements will be Friday morning, but jury deliberations won’t start until Monday because the judge is going to be gone in the afternoon.

Further testimony

Bevans, during her testimony, admitted she put a pillow partially over Jodie’s face and was going to step on it to hold it down, but then Jodie threw up and she couldn’t go through with it.

Jodie was still breathing when she left the bedroom, she stated, which is why she told an investigator she didn’t think Jodie was dead.

She said Talley, acting alone, held down her stepmother and suffocated her.

Bevans denied knowing that Jodie was alone that night at the house and said her daughter, who testified Wednesday, was incorrect in saying Bevans was asking if Jodie would be alone or camping with the family July 14.

Bevans said she was asking about other family members — if they were camping. She said she missed the message from her daughter that Jodie wasn’t at the campsite.

She also denied being mad about Jodie not going to her July 7 court hearing regarding her children and a no-contact order between her and Talley. Bevans said she knew Jodie wasn’t going to help her.

Bevans also denied going into Jodie’s home earlier and unlocking a window, as she told police in one interview. She said Talley removed the window from the outside the night of the slaying.

Cross-examination

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Assistant Iowa Attorney General Monty Platz asked Bevans how Talley did that without breaking the window. She said she didn’t know.

Platz: Didn’t all the noise wake up Jodie Bevans, who was sleeping? Bevans said no.

Platz: Why would Talley, if he’s this “mastermind,” let Bevans make an Snapchat video, incriminating them, and save it? Bevans said she didn’t know.

Bevans said Talley bragged about killing people all the time, but she didn’t believe him. She thought he was “crazy.” After he killed Jodie, she believed him and thought he would kill her.

She said she made the Snapchat video because she wanted to implicate herself, so he wouldn’t turn on her.

On rebuttal testimony, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Holly Witt testified that Bevans told her and another investigator how she placed the pillow fully over Jodie’s face. She then got up on Jodie’s bed and demonstrated how she was “grinding” her foot on top of the pillow.

Talley was convicted of first-degree murder in Jodie Bevans’ death in August 2023 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Domestic abuse

In other testimony, Karla Fischer, a psychologist and lawyer in Illinois, testified about the dynamics of domestic abuse and how it affects the victim’s behavior.

Abusers will use different strategies to control the victim, such as making direct threats or threats to others the victim cares about, carrying out an assault, manipulating the victim by giving them false information or misinformation and telling the victim something bad about another person to change the victim’s relationship or opinion of that person.

Fischer on cross-examination said the psychological effects of domestic violence would not prevent someone from being able to premeditate, deliberate or form the intent to commit murder.

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A rebuttal witness for the prosecution, Rosanna Jones-Thurman, a clinical psychologist licensed in Iowa and Nebraska, testified that she conducted a mental examination of Bevans in 2022 and found she didn’t have any severe or significant mental health issue.

Bevans had good recall, related events of her stepmother’s death and from her past, Jones-Thurman said. Bevans was “fairly” consistent and willing to tell her story. She had good recall and had no problem with cognitive functioning.

The psychologist said she found no mental condition that would prevent Bevans from being able to premeditate, deliberate and form specific intent to commit murder.

Bevans, she said, wasn’t suffering from diminished capacity and she saw no signs of any issues when Bevans testified Thursday.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

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