Background: News footage from the scene in Lawrence, Indiana, after Darius Timberlake was found shot dead in April (WXIN). Inset: Jeremy Jett (Marion County Sheriff”s Office).
An Indiana man was arrested months after another man’s shooting death, and the woman believed to be in the middle of it all said the alleged killing was driven by jealousy.
Jeremy Jett, 19, was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday after he was charged with murdering 26-year-old Darius Timberlake in April. According to court documents obtained by local Fox affiliate WXIN, Jett allegedly opened fire on Timberlake after finding him in bed with Jett’s girlfriend. In the court record, police said that Jett’s girlfriend told them that he was “jealous.”
According to local ABC affiliate WRTV, police responded to reports of a shooting at a home in Lawrence, Indiana, at around 3:30 a.m. on April 23. When officers arrived, they found Timberlake dead at the scene due to gunshot wounds. Reports at the time stated that a person of interest was detained at the scene for questioning but did not say who it was or whether that person was a suspect.
Just over two months later, Jett was arrested and charged with Timberlake’s murder.
According to WXIN, prosecutors said that Jett showed up at the home of his girlfriend to find her in bed with another man. That man was Timberlake, and Jett allegedly pulled a gun on him. The two men reportedly fought over the gun before Jett fired the fatal shots.
Court documents stated that Jett waited more than half an hour before calling 911 and then claimed the shooting was an accident.
When police spoke to Jett’s girlfriend, she had a different telling of the apparent altercation. According to the probable cause affidavit, she told police that she did not believe the shooting was an accident. She stated that Jett was “jealous and accused her of cheating.” When he found her in bed with Timberlake, he repeatedly asked her, “Why are you laid up next to him?”
An investigation into Jett’s social media activity also raised suspicion. According to the probable cause affidavit, Jett allegedly told a friend on Instagram before he was arrested on Monday that he was going to claim that he shot Timberlake in self-defense.
Jett was charged with one count of murder and is being held at the Marion County Jail without bond. He was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
