The Murder of Jarrod Davidson
For this case I watched an episode of Nightmare Next Door. It’s season 2 episode 5, titled ‘ Murder in Santa Barbara.’
A 27 year old father is killed on his doorstep.
Background
Jarrod Davidson had moved from San Diego to Santa Barbara to attend grad school at the University of California Santa Barbara. He loved science, and earned a degree in chemistry. He worked at a pharmaceutical company for awhile before deciding to go to grad school.
Jarrod was described as sweet, funny and reserved.
Jarrod Davidson
The Marriage
By the summer of 2004, shortly before Jarrod was killed, he had gone through a recent divorce.
In January 23, 2000, Jarrod married a woman named Kelee Jones. Kelly had been three months pregnant at the time, and in July 2000, their daughter was born.
Things changed quickly for the couple. Kelee was very close to her parents, and Jarrod felt like they interfered a lot in their relationship. Jarrod tried to make things work for their daughter, but filed for divorce when he couldn’t take it anymore.
Kelee and Jarrod both wanted full custody of their daughter, but Kelee received full custody. Jarrod was given three weekends a month and three weeks a year with his daughter. Kelee was there to fight Jarrod every chance she got. She even reported that Jarrod was sexually abusing their daughter. However, there was no proof of this.
After the abuse allegation, Jarrod sued Kelee for full custody. The hearing was scheduled for July 28, 2004. Nineteen days before the hearing, Jarrod was shot and killed.
Jarrod and his daughter
The Murder
On July 9, 2004, Detective Greg Sorenson with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene. Jarrod Davidson had been shot in the chest in the doorway of his home. He passed away in the ambulance around 11:30pm.
There was a large amount of blood spatter in the hallway and on the door. A single bullet casing was found in the bathtub of an adjacent apartment was found. The police determined that the shooter had been 8-15 feet away from Jarrod. It led them to an area surrounded by bushes, just across from Jarrod’s apartment. No shell casings were found nearby.
At the crime scene, Sr. Deputy Freddy Padilla noticed something out of place. There was a potted plant that had rolled on its side at the scene. It had a card in it with Jarrod’s name misspelled in child like handwriting. The police believed the plant was used to get Jarrod to open his door.
The Ex-Wife
After Jarrod’s death, it took the police a few days to get a hold of Jarrod’s parents. They had been out of town. When the police spoke to them, they immediately believed that Kelee was involved.
Kelee was brought in for questioning. The police didn’t tell her that Jarrod had been murdered until later in the interview. Kelee didn’t show any emotion until they asked her why she wasn’t showing emotion.
Kelee told the police that she had been with a friend 90 miles away during the time of the murder. Her friend confirmed this, but during his interview, he was abrasive. The police discovered he had a thing for firearms, so a warrant was obtained for some of the weapons. They couldn’t be determined as being the murder weapon, which was believed to be a high powered rifle.
Kelee had also been dating another man. This man said that he believed Jarrod was involved in drugs, and had been making drugs in the chemistry lab at school. This was another lie told by Kelee. The police spoke to several people at UCSB, and they all had nothing but great things to say about Jarrod.
The In-Laws
While the men in Kelee’s life were ruled out, her parents Philip and Malinda, soon became persons of interest. They didn’t like Jarrod, and even told the police that he wasn’t a great person, but didn’t deserve to be killed.
Philip and Malinda told the police that they had been in Grover Beach, about 90 miles away, during the time of the murder. Philip also told the police that his arm was disabled from a car accident.
Philip had also brought up that Jarrod was involved in drugs. The police had already determined this wasn’t true.
Philip and Malinda weren’t ruled out, but there was no evidence that they were involved. That was until the police turned back to the potted plant.
The Surveillance Footage
Dep. Freddy Padilla remembered seeing the potted plant in a display of Persian violets in a Von’s grocery store. He went back to the store, and saw the same display. He contacted the manager of the store, and asked for the surveillance footage.
In the footage, a person can be seen checking out the plant. They are wearing bulky clothes, covering their face, and have their sleeves over the palm of their hands. The person paid in cash, but left without receiving the change.
The police discovered that the person had made a mistake. When they went to grab the card holder to put in the plant, they touched it with their bare hands. The tape also revealed it was a female, and the police believed it was Kelee, based on her mannerisms and walk. The police asked for a DNA sample from Kelee and Malinda. The DNA matched Malinda Jones.
On January 6, 2005, Malinda was arrested and charged with murder.
A Twisted Family
After Malinda’s arrest, the police obtained a warrant for the Joneses home. The police believed Philip was the other person involved in this case. A witness had seen two people fleeing the scene of the crime after Jarrod was shot.
What about their alibi you ask? Malinda told the police that she had called Kelee from Grover Beach. Kelee confirmed this, and said she heard waves in the background. The police checked the cell phone records, and discovered the phone call had bounced off towers near Highway 101, heading in the direction of Santa Barbara.
The police also learned that Philip’s story about his arm was false. They had been surveilling the couple for awhile. They followed them to a grocery store, where they bought some wine. Philip can be seen carrying the box out to the car. They now believed Philip was the shooter, and that Kelee was somehow involved.
Philip was arrested 19 days after his wife’s arrest.
The Trial
At trial, Kelee testified for the defense. She said she heard waves in the background of the phone call from her mom. At this time, the police already knew that Malinda and Philip were not at the beach. Without Kelee’s testimony, their case fell apart. Kelee was arrested for aiding and abetting.
Philip tried to make a deal with the prosecution. He said he’d plead guilty to murder, if all charges against his daughter were dropped. Darryl Perlin, the prosecutor, said absolutely not.
This changed once Philip was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. The prosecution accepted Philip’s plea. He was plead guilty to be sentenced to 25 years to life. Kelee was not let off that easy though, she would agree to plead guilty to two counts of perjury and for being an accessory. She was sentenced to 4 years.
Malinda was the only who went back on her word.
Philip and Kelee
An Insanity Plea?
Malinda went on trial on July 24, 2006. At trial, Malinda was acting bizarre, and said she had amnesia. She claimed she didn't know her family or attorney. She was seen whispering, playing with her hands and talking in a baby voice to her attorney.
However, Malinda wasn’t fooling anyone. The prosecution was able to prove that Malinda remembered a lot. She didn’t seem to think that prison phone calls were recorded, and her insanity defense fell apart.
Malinda Jones was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Malinda Jones
Other
On May 19, 2007, Philip Jones died in prison.
On July 6, 2007, Kelee was released from prison.
Malinda remains behind bars.
Jarrod’s daughter is being raised by his parents.
FINAL THOUGHTS .
This case made me sad and mad. I’m sad for Jarrod’s family and daughter. I’m mad because while justice was served, only one person in this awful family is behind bars. I believe they all planned this murder, and thought they could get away with it. They made up so many lies about Jarrod, but thankfully no one ever believed them, except for his awful in-laws. They didn’t care about their daughter/granddaughter. If they did, they wouldn’t have killed her father, even if he wasn’t their favorite person.
Malinda deserves to rot in prison for life.
Sources
https://dailynexus.com/2006-01-09/suspect-pleads-guilty-to-murder-in-davidson-case/
https://www.independent.com/2006/10/19/murder-first/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/murder-comes-knocking/
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15418659
https://www.viacomcbspressexpress.com/cbs-news-and-stations/releases/print?id=15108
