The Murder of Jake Millison
For this case, I watched an episode of Mother, May I Murder? It’s season 1 episode 4, titled ‘Blood Feud.’
A young man disappears from his family’s ranch.
Background
Jake Millison had grown up on his family’s ranch known as the 7-11 Ranch in Gunnison, Colorado.
Jake had an older sister, Stephanie, who also had grown up on the ranch. Jake and Stephanie’s mom, Deborah married Rudy Rudibaugh after she split from their father. Rudy had needed help on the ranch but passed away. Deborah and Jake stayed on the ranch. Stephanie married a man named David Jackson but moved back to the ranch after Deborah and Jake began having issues.
Jake loved jiu-jitsu and spending time with his friends. He was described as quiet, but funny once you got to know him.
Jake Millison
The Disappearance
In May 2015, Jake was reported missing by his friends. He hadn’t been seen in about 2 weeks. Jake’s family said it was not unusual for Jake to take off, but his friends immediately were suspicious of the Rudibaugh/Jackson clan.
Jake’s friends also learned that Jake hadn’t been showing up at the gym where he trained for jiu-jitsu. They drove to the 7-11 Ranch and discovered that Jake’s truck and his dog were still there.
The police learned that Jake didn’t like the ranch life anymore. He didn’t like dealing with the animals and nothing was good enough for Deborah. Deborah didn’t like the work that Jake was doing and Jake didn’t like that he wasn’t being paid for his work.
The ranch was very rundown and Deborah became a hoarder. She would buy items but not throw anything out.
7-11 Ranch
The Discovery
In April 2016, David Jackson invited his friend, Jeremy to live and work on the ranch. They wanted to turn the ranch around.
Jeremy was interviewed in this episode. He explained that one day David had given him a gun, and told him to use it if Jake ever came back. David and Stephanie never had a nice word to say about Jake.
Jeremy said he had joked around with them and said what if Deborah had killed Jake and buried him in the backyard. Jeremy said he knew he had crossed a line.
In May 2017, Jeremy and David were doing work around the ranch. Jeremy noticed that David and Stephanie were looking down at something in a manure pile. Jeremy saw that it was some kind of remains, but thought it was the remains of an illegal animal. Stephanie became angry and told David to cover it back up. Jeremy was told that he was now involved and had to stay on the ranch. Jeremy said he never called the police because he was afraid of what would happen to him.
The Family
Deborah and Stephanie were telling people when asked that Jake had gotten involved with drug dealers and had left town.
Jake’s friends created a Facebook page, ‘Where is Jake Millison?’ They knew that Jake’s family was involved. Deborah was very upset that Jake’s friends were accusing them of being involved in Jake’s disappearance.
Jake and Stephanie had never been close even as kids. The feud became more strained once David came into their lives. Stephanie and David met at a carnival. David moved in with her after knowing her for a few days. The relationship was very toxic. They moved to Denver but moved back to Gunnison after Deborah had asked them to move to the ranch.
Jake and Stephanie’s arguments picked up right where they left off after Stephanie moved back. The police learned that Jake had a protective order against David. Jake told his friends that if anything ever happened to him it was David.
Jake had a motorcycle that he would not let anyone including his close friends ride or touch it. After Jake disappeared, pictures surfaced of David on the motorcycle. Jake’s friends had also seen several people on the ranch standing next to a burn pile burning a mattress.
The Confession
The police searched the lodge, where Jake had been staying on the ranch. The lodge was messy except for Jake’s room. There was also a new mattress and box spring on the bed. David and Stephanie had moved into the lodge.
On July 17, 2016, the police obtained a search warrant to search the grounds of the ranch. Multiple police agencies showed up in the early morning hours to search.
On this same day, Deborah confessed to killing Jake and being the only one involved. She said Jake had threatened her a lot, so she took a gun and shot him in the top of the head. She said she did it while he was sleeping because she was afraid of what he would do when he woke up again.
The police asked Deborah if they would find Jake’s remains once they searched the property. She said, “You will.”
Deborah led the police to the area where she said she buried Jake. While the police were searching the area, Deborah said she wasn’t happy with them driving all over her hay bales. They started to dig in the manure pile. They found a barrel with goat heads inside. They also found remains believed to be Jake’s wrapped up in a tarp. The police were absolutely stunned that someone could do that to a family member.
The Mastermind
Deborah was described as reclusive and not friendly. She was tiny but scary. Jake thought he needed to stay at the ranch to help his mom, but nothing was ever good enough for her.
Jake wanted to sell the ranch, but Deborah was angry. Jake had tried to sell the ranch to a neighbor for $1 million. Deborah confronted Jake about it on the day that Jake was killed.
The police confiscated several firearms found at the ranch. The murder weapon, a Smith and Wesson was also found. One bullet had been fired. The bullet had Deborah’s DNA on it.
The plan was for Deborah to take the fall for the murder because she had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and would be passing soon. Jeremy knew that Deborah was not capable of killing and burying Jake on her own. Deborah had also gotten her gallbladder removed and couldn’t even lift a carton of milk. She would have had to kill Jake, and drag his body down the stairs and outside.
Despite Deborah’s confession, the police didn’t arrest her right away. They put the ranch under surveillance.
The Arrests
Jeremy told the police about when he had discovered the remains. Stephanie had started to believe that David was cheating on her with her friend. She had made a comment that she was going to kill David. Jeremy then contacted the police.
In February 2018, Deborah, David, and Stephanie were all arrested. They were all charged with first-degree murder.
Stephanie claimed not to know anything about Jake’s disappearance or about any of Deborah’s plans to kill him. Stephanie told the police that she had been in Denver, but her phone records put her in Gunnison during the time that Jake had disappeared.
In Dave’s confession, he said he had seen Jake’s remains and that he knew they were not animal remains. David said Stephanie liked to ride her horses and he felt like a slave at the ranch.
Eventually, Deborah admitted that Stephanie had told her that the only way Jake would ever leave the ranch was in a body bag.
Deborah changed her will a lot. She removed Jake from it just a few weeks before he was killed. It’s believed that Jake had learned that he was being removed from the will which caused an argument.
The Plea Deals
Deborah accepted a plea deal for second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 40 years. David and Stephanie accepted plea deals for tampering with a body. Stephanie was sentenced to 24 years and David to 10 years.
Deborah died less than a year after she was sentenced. David was released in May 2023. Stephanie is eligible for release in 2041.
Many people believe that Stephanie was the mastermind and had pulled the trigger. One of Stephanie’s friends believes that it was Deborah because Deborah was tiny but frightening. Deborah always got her way and wanted Jake out of the way so that he could not sell the ranch.
The ranch is no longer in the family and has been sold.
Deborah Rudibaugh, Stephanie and David Jackson
FINAL THOUGHTS
I believe that all 3 were equally involved. I believe Deborah shot Jake but did not drag his body outside by herself. I think Jake was afraid of his family but maybe didn’t think that he would be killed by them. I agree with the police it is a shock that someone let alone 3 people could bury a family member in the way that they did.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-deborah-sue-rudibaugh-now/
https://townsquarenoco.com/7-11-ranch-murder/
