Opinion ID: 2590326
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The first taped statement/confession

Text: The following day, October 4, 1995, defendant was arrested for murder and taken to a Las Vegas police station, where he waived his Miranda rights ( Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436 [16 L.Ed.2d 694, 86 S.Ct. 1602]) and agreed to give a tape-recorded statement to Detective Wahl and Sergeant Johnson. Defendant again stated he and Billie moved from Wilson Avenue on September 4, 1995. Billie stayed behind in Tehachapi at her daughter Brenda Doty's home, while defendant drove to Las Vegas to look for landscaping work. His truck broke down en route and he hitchhiked the rest of the way to Las Vegas, where he stayed with Billie's son Eric for four or five nights. He hitchhiked back to Tehachapi the following Sunday. Self and Amos picked up Billie and defendant the next morning, Monday, September 11, and they returned to the Self/Amos residence in Oildale. Defendant stated he left the residence alone around noon, walked around the neighborhood looking for a truck to purchase, and returned at 2:00 p.m., after which he and Billie left on the 7:00 p.m. bus for Las Vegas. Defendant stated they bought the van on Wednesday, September 13, for $1,800 in cash, and began living in it. The money used to purchase the van came from his hitting several casino jackpots and finding $200 in the casino bathroom, plus $900 that Eric put in as a 50/50 partner in defendant's new landscaping business. Defendant again stated the last time he saw the Jordans was the morning before he and Billie moved out of Unit B. He denied returning to the Jordans' apartment on Monday, September 11. He denied he and Billie were in need of money, claiming they had $1,600 to $1,800 in cash when they moved out. The detectives had learned defendant and Billie had not paid their September rent upon moving. Defendant was confronted with the fact he had lied by failing to relate that he returned to the Self/Amos residence on Monday, September 11, with $3,000 which he gave to Billie, falsely telling her and the others that he had borrowed it from his mother. Detective Wahl and Sergeant Johnson told defendant they believed he killed Shirley and Joey Jordan because he was broke and needed money. At first defendant denied it. Upon further questioning, he admitted he lied about borrowing the $3,000 from his mother, but did not explain from where he obtained the money. He acknowledged knowing Shirley kept a lot of cash in her residence, and volunteered his opinion that she was extremely frugal. As the questioning continued, defendant ultimately admitted to killing Shirley and Joey. [5] He stated he went to see Shirley on September 11, that they sat and talked for a while, and that at some point he pulled out the knife Roesler had given him and demanded money from her. He stated they struggled and he first stabbed her, and then stabbed Joey. He washed the blood off the knife, returned to the Self/Amos residence, and gave the knife to Bob Amos. As the interview continued, defendant provided additional details. He explained that Shirley had invited him in through the back door and he was surprised to see Joey home from school. He told Shirley he and Billie were having it pretty rough and needed to borrow some more money. Shirley responded by stating, You guys are draining me. She went into the kitchen and when she returned, defendant stood up, pulled out the knife Eric had lent him, told her he was desperate, and demanded all the money in the house. He grabbed her, stating, Shirley, I don't want to hurt you. Now just tell me where the money is. She did not comply; they started wrestling on the floor, at which point he whacked her a couple of times. He then lost it as Joey came running out. He grabbed Joey, they all fell to the floor, and he stabbed Shirley in the chest. He then decided he had to kill Joey to prevent him from being a witness to the crime. Defendant claimed he stabbed both victims in the living room and left their bodies in that room. Defendant then entered the bedroom and found the money in a dresser drawer. He washed the blood off his hands and knife in the kitchen sink, left through the back door, and returned to the Self/Amos residence, where he gave Billie the money and Amos the knife. He showered and changed his clothes, then he and Billie took a bus to Las Vegas that same evening. When confronted with the fact that the bodies were found in the bedroom and not the living room, defendant insisted he killed both victims in the living room, then sat watching them for a long time after they were dead. Finally, defendant admitted he lied when he said he and Billie had $1,800 at the time they moved out, and lied about Eric going in 50/50 with him on the van. He also admitted he was broke when he killed Shirley and Joey.