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Prosecutor: Palo woman killed by stepdaughter for ‘payback, payout’ in 2022
Defense: ‘This was a burglary gone wrong’

May. 14, 2024 7:28 pm, Updated: May. 15, 2024 1:23 pm
VINTON — Jodie Bevans was killed by her stepdaughter and her stepdaughter’s boyfriend for “pay back and pay out,” a prosecutor said during his opening statement Tuesday.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Monty Platz showed a Snapchat video made by Samantha Faith Bevans, 35, of Palo. In the video, Bevans is smiling and jumping around while she admits that she killed her stepmom, Jodie Bevans, 58, of Palo, on July 14, 2022.
In the video, Samantha Bevans says, “I killed her. I killed her myself,” as her boyfriend, Tacoa 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.
Samantha saved the video in her social media memories on her cellphone, Platz told the jury during the first day of her first-degree murder trial in Benton County District Court.
Platz said Samantha wanted pay back after Jodie kicked her out. Jodie and Samantha’s father, Mike Bevans, found out Samantha was sneaking Talley into the house and things were going missing. Talley was convicted in this case last year.
The trial is expected to last five days. If convicted of first-degree murder, Samantha Bevans faces life in prison without parole.
Platz said after Samantha was kicked out, she blamed Jodie for her hardships. She and Talley planned to steal money from a safe in the Bevans’ house.
Samantha selected July 14, 2022 because she knew the Bevans family was going to go camping but Jodie, who was a nurse, would stay behind because she had to work early the next morning.
Platz said Samantha and Talley got Jason Wells, who they met at a truck stop, to drive them to the house. They used Wells, who will testify during trial, for his car and money and then took possession of his car, belongings and dog to keep him with them, so he wouldn’t “snitch” on them.
Platz said Jodie was in bed when Samantha and Talley went to the house on July 14, and she never had the chance to “put up a fight.” They held her down and suffocated her with a pillow.
“A slow way — up close, personal way — to kill someone,” Platz said.
Platz said Samantha went into the kitchen and disconnected the surveillance camera, and then they got into the safe, took money and went back to a motel.
Platz played a surveillance video that was recorded outside their motel room when they got back. In the video, Samantha is smiling and looks happy.
In her opening, Samantha’s lawyer, Lindsay Garner, said this was a “tragic” event, not a “planned attack.” Garner said Talley lied to Samantha about why they were going to the Bevans’ house that night. Samantha just wanted to get her dog.
“This was a burglary gone wrong,” Gardner said.
Garner said Samantha has been abused by Talley for years. Family members and an expert will testify about domestic abuse and how that affected Samantha’s behavior.
The prosecution’s “star” witness, Wells, is a self-proclaimed meth addict, Garner said. He wasn’t being held against his will, she said. He stayed because he was getting drugs from the couple. Garner said they all were high, and Samantha may have been high when she talked to police.
Garner said the prosecution can’t prove premeditation and specific intent elements of first-degree murder.
DCI Agent: Samantha’s interview demeanor seemed ‘staged’
Special Agent Trent Vileta with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation testified Samantha denied killing her stepmom during a first interview. He interviewed her a second time, and she denied it again.
Samantha denied being mad at Jodie. She also denied writing a note police found in Wells’ car, which said “Kill Jodie” on Thursday — July 14. Samantha was yelling and crying at times during the interview.
After Vileta arrested Samantha and read her Miranda rights, she agreed to continue talking.
Vileta told Samantha they’d been tracking her through cellphone data and surveillance videos.
Samantha told Vileta she and Talley went the Bevans’ house to get her dog. She said she entered the house through a bedroom window. She said she was in the kitchen when she heard Jodie scream and Talley was harming her. She said she yelled at him to stop several times but he wouldn’t.
Samantha said Talley lied to her about why they were going there.
During the interview, Samantha started crying, saying she didn’t believe Jodie was dead because she was still breathing when Samantha saw her.
Samantha also initially denied the Snapchat video and then said she was mad at Talley in the video because of what he did.
She did admit that she and Talley took $300 from the Bevans’ house that day.
On cross, Vileta said Samantha talked about her drug use. He also said he didn’t think Samantha was being honest with him. Her demeanor during interview seemed “staged or acting” to him.
Sister: Stepmom wanted to help Samantha
Kellie Hughes, Samantha’s sister, testified they had planned a camping trip for July 14, 2022 to Sugar Bottom Campgroun. She said Samantha knew about the trip from her daughter, who was adopted by Jodie and Mike at 18 months old because Samantha couldn’t care for her.
Hughes said Samantha called her daughter more than once, asking who went camping and asked to join them. Samantha didn’t ask Hughes because Hughes wouldn’t have invited her.
Hughes said Jodie always wanted to help Samantha when she had issues or problems. She let Samantha move in in January 2022, but then kicked her out because she was letting Talley come to the house.
On July 7, Hughes said Samantha was angry with Jodie and blamed her for Samantha losing her children in court.
On cross, Hughes said she never saw any domestic abuse incidents between Samantha and Talley, but she did know there was a no contact order in place.
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