Background: Carrie Jones is seen leaving a Madison County, Neb. courtroom after being convicted of murder (News Channel Nebraska). Inset: Gene Twiford (Meyer Brothers Funeral Homes).
A Nebraska woman who convinced her husband to kill their neighbor after she said she was being harassed was convicted of murder.
Carrie Jones was found guilty by a jury on Thursday after going on trial for the murder of Gene Twiford, 86, one of four victims of a quadruple slaying that took place in August 2022. Gene Twiford was shot to death by Carrie Jones” husband, Jason Jones, who was convicted in September 2024 for murdering Gene Twiford; his wife, 85-year-old Janet Twiford; their daughter, 55-year-old Dana Twiford; and another neighbor, 53-year-old Michele Eberling.
According to courtroom reporting by independent local news outlet News Channel Nebraska, prosecutors made it clear that Carrie Jones “did not pull the trigger that killed Gene Twiford. But she pulled the strings that led to his death.”
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Carrie Jones was arrested in December 2022, months after the violent slayings that took place on Aug. 4, 2022. At the time of her arrest, prosecutors stated that if it were not for Carrie Jones’ influence, the murders never would have occurred. In court, prosecutors asked the question, “Would we even be here if it weren’t for Carrie Jones?”
According to reporting on the case by Nebraska Public Media, Carrie Jones complained to her husband that Gene Twiford had been verbally harassing her. She told an investigator, “This s—’s gotta stop or I’m gonna kill him.” The investigation confirmed that the older man, who lived blocks away from the Jones family, had a reputation for verbally harassing others in the area and had even been asked to leave certain places.
Nebraska Public Media reported that the couple exchanged text messages discussing the idea of killing Gene Twiford, going back to March 2022. During one of those exchanges, Carrie Jones said, “that would be good hit.”
The night before the murders, Carrie Jones reportedly had a violent argument with Jason Jones during which she threatened him with a gun and a knife and told her husband to deal with Gene Twiford or else she would do it herself. In his testimony during Carrie Jones’ trial, Jason Jones described his wife as “a very difficult woman.”
On the night of Aug. 4, 2022, Jason Jones broke into Gene Twiford’s home and shot him dead. Not realizing that Janet and Dana Twiford were there, he shot them dead as well. He then set the Twifords’ home on fire.
After leaving the Twifords’, Jason Jones then went to the home of Eberling, who met the same fate as the Twifords. According to prosecutors, Carrie Jones told her husband that she thought Eberling was “weird.”
Jason Jones returned to his own home suffering from severe burns but did not seek medical attention for himself, which they believed would raise suspicion. He told his wife that he killed four people and set their houses on fire. Then Carrie Jones left him at home to go to work while he drifted in and out of consciousness.
Carrie Jones disposed of the clothes her husband wore the night of the murders and deleted several texts that included their incriminating conversations.
On Aug. 5, 2022, Jason Jones was arrested and airlifted to a hospital for his injuries before going to jail. He was found guilty in September 2023 of four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree arson, and four counts of using a firearm to commit a felony.
Carrie Jones was arrested the day after her husband. She was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Gene Twiford, evidence tampering, and accessory to a felony.
A first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence in Nebraska. Both Carrie and Jason Jones are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 20.
