Jury weighs Jefferson’s fate

TOLEDO - Dustin Jefferson wasn't a victim of circumstances. He had a plan, a prosecutor said Tuesday in her closing argument at Jefferson's first-degree murder trial.

'This man was right where he planned to be at that time,” Assistant Iowa Attorney General Laura Roan said. 'He helped plan (the attack) and participated. His knife was used. His bedroom. His knowledge. Her blood was on him. Her fear of him. That's the evidence.”

Jefferson, 38, is accused of aiding and abetting in the killing of his wife, Kerry O'Clair Jefferson, on Sept. 25, 2013, at the home in Tama where he was staying. The two were estranged but were drinking together, along with Jefferson's mother and sister, the morning of the slaying.

Jefferson's mother, Ginger Jefferson, now 58, was convicted last year of killing her daughter-in-law.

Roan said Jefferson knew his mother was going to stab his wife to death.

In his closing arguments, Tom Gaul, Jefferson's lawyer, said the state had not met its burden of proof and there was lack of evidence that Jefferson was in the house when Ginger killed Kerry.

Gaul said Ginger Jefferson never implicated her son.

It may not be logical that Jefferson took off after his mother when she came out of the house with bloody hands, instead of going in to check on his wife, but people react differently in traumatic situations, he told jurors.

O'Clair Jefferson, 32, died from two stab wounds to the neck and also had blunt force injuries to her face and head, according to testimony.

The jury started deliberating before noon Tuesday and will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Tama County District Court.

If convicted, Jefferson faces life in prison without parole.

In the courtroom Tuesday, Roan reviewed testimony and evidence pointing out motive. Jefferson had an outstanding warrant for sexual abuse charges, and his wife turned him in that day. She told police where to find the house, located at 104 Harmon St., where he was staying. 

Roan pointed out Kerry was younger and outweighed Ginger Jefferson by 75 or 80 pounds. Roan said Kerry was ambushed and Ginger needed help from Jefferson, who beat his wife and held her down while his mother stabbed her.

Gaul reviewed blood evidence and wondered how Jefferson could hold down Kerry and not get any blood on him. The criminalist who testified earlier said the stabbing was consistent with one person hitting Kerry with a fist and then stabbing her on the left side of the neck. Gaul said 'reasonable doubt” exists.

Gaul said Kerry had a lot to drink that night and tested positive for marijuana and hydrocodone, which would make her less able to protect herself.

On rebuttal, Roan said the criminalist also said the stabbing was consistent with more than one person hitting Kerry and then stabbing her.

She asked jurors to watch the police interviews with Jefferson and see him look up at the camera before he starts crying for about five minutes. He decides at that moment to tell them his mother killed Kerry, Roan said.