Coroner says all four Laurel murder victims died quickly as autopsy results were discussed in Wednesday's testimony

This story contains graphic details from the victims' autopsy reports.

DAKOTA COUNTY, Nebraska (KTIV) – Wednesday was undoubtedly a difficult day in court for the families of Michele Ebeling and Gene, Janet and Dana Twiford. A Nebraska medical examiner who performed their autopsies described each of their injuries as Day 5 of the Jason Jones murder trial continued in Dakota County District Court.

According to Nebraska Coroner Dr. Erin Linde, Michele Ebeling died quickly, before the fire was set in her home.

Dr. Linde spent several hours on the witness stand on Wednesday, describing in detail the gunshot and burn wounds each of the four victims sustained on August 4, 2022.

Dr. Linde, a forensic pathologist from Omaha, performed the autopsies on all four victims the day after they were discovered.

DAY 4: “It was very scary. Everything was black” – Investigators describe the condition of the house in Twiford after the fire

Michele Ebeling, 53, who was pulled unconscious from her burning home at 209 Elm Street around 3 a.m. on August 4, 2022, was the first to be examined by Dr. Linde on August 5, 2022.

Ebeling, Dr. Linde said, was shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest, both times at close range, as evidenced by the small burns around the two entry wounds. She also had second-degree burns on her legs, arms, abdomen and chest. Both gunshot wounds were fatal and she died quickly, Dr. Linde explained, before her house was set on fire.

A bullet was found in Ebeling's body and recovered by Dr. Linde. That bullet was shown to the jury during testimony Wednesday morning.

During testimony on Friday, September 13, Nebraska State Patrol investigator Jeremy Hampton described a defensive wound on Ebeling's right hand near her pinky finger. Dr. Linde, when questioned by defense attorney Todd Lancaster, stated that she found no defensive wounds on Ebeling's body.

DAY 3: “From the fire scene to the crime scene” – Investigators describe the causes of fires in houses in Ebeling and Twiford

Dana Twiford, 55, was the second person Dr. Linde examined on August 5, and the first from the Twiford household. Dana Twiford had been shot seven times, three of them fatally, including two in the chest, striking the heart and left lung, and she would have died within seconds, Dr. Linde concluded.

Although her body was covered in soot, Dana Twiford had no burns on her body and no soot in her respiratory tract.

Dana Twiford was found in the entryway of an office across from the master bedroom, where Gene and Janet Twiford were also discovered.

DAY 2: “I asked, 'Are they in there?' and no one answered” – Twiford's daughter describes the moments when she learned of the fire and the murder of her parents and sister

Gene Twiford, 86, was the third autopsy Dr. Linde performed on August 5, and the second person from the Twiford household. He had been shot twice, once in the upper right arm, which then penetrated the chest, and once directly in the chest.

His body was covered in soot and he had some burns on his head.

The bullet wound to his chest struck his heart and he died quickly, Dr. Linde said, before his house was set on fire. The bullet was removed by Dr. Linde, who described it as a “full metal jacket bullet,” and shown to the jury.

Gene Twiford was found by firefighters on his bedroom floor shortly after 9:30 a.m. on August 4, 2022. His wife, Janet Twiford, was found in their bed.

DAY 1: Defense opening statement points to Jones' “nervous breakdown” as reason for the murders

The last autopsy of 85-year-old Janet Twiford was performed by Dr. Linde on August 5. She had been shot four times, twice in the chest and once in the head. A fourth wound on her back was described by Dr. Linde as superficial, just under the skin.

Like Dana and Gene Twiford, Janet Twiford died before her house was set on fire. The wound to her forehead caused a brain stem injury and she died “instantly,” Dr. Linde said. “Her cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head and chest.”

She was also found covered in soot, but had neither burns on her body nor soot in her respiratory tract.

All four victims, Dr. Linde said, died shortly after being shot and did not die in the fires that were set in their homes. She found no signs of soot in their respiratory tract.

“They literally freeze in time.”

Adam Metzner has been with the Nebraska Fire Marshal's Agency since 1999 and has led the investigative team since 2015. He oversaw the fire investigations at the homes of Michele Ebeling and the Twiford Home.

Shortly after 3 a.m., an explosion was reported at 209 Elm Street and firefighters discovered Ebeling's body in the doorway. Authorities were called to investigate her death and the fire. Metzner was at Ebeling's home when investigators learned of a fire further down the street at the Twiford residence at 503 Elm Street around 9:30 a.m., where they discovered that the three members of the Twiford family had been shot inside the home.

When he arrived at the Twiford family home, he said the fire in the house had “shut itself out” but the attic was still “flooding,” which was due to the smoke witnesses saw rising from the roof vents when the fire was reported.

At the Twiford family home, Metzner said he found a hand-operated analog clock in Dana Twiford's bedroom that, aside from soot, was untouched by the fire.

The hands of this clock, which were shown to the jury in a photograph, had stopped at 3:05 a.m.

3:05 a.m. was just three minutes after Gail Curry, Dana's sister and daughter of Gene and Janet Twiford, received a notification of movement at her parents' home on the morning of August 4, 2022. That notification came at 3:02 a.m., she said on the witness stand on Friday, September 13.

Curry had installed two cameras in her father's workshop months before the murders to monitor his activities, as he had previously fallen. One of these cameras had been brought into the house and turned on the week before the murders, as Curry was doing some diagnostics on it after it stopped working in his workshop.

Metzner said that, in the case of the clock on Dana's wall, it is not uncommon for clocks to fail in this way during a fire.

“In some cases, it can happen that as a fire spreads or the heat associated with it, the internal workings of a watch are affected by the heat,” he told the jury, explaining that the watch would then no longer function.

THE BLACK BACKPACK

At Ebeling's home, investigators initially focused on the evidence they knew was connected to the crime. It wasn't until late in the day on August 4 that Nebraska State Patrol investigators opened a black backpack lying on the kitchen table. In the front pocket of that backpack was the evidence they needed to name a possible suspect.

“Some of the receipts were for items we believed were related to the murder.”

Several receipts hidden in that front pocket documented the purchase of two red gas cans, gasoline and a camping backpack, Nebraska State Patrol investigator Tyler Mann told the jury.

The two gas cans and the backpack were from Fleet Farm in Sioux City and were purchased on August 3 at approximately 6:30 p.m. Another receipt for gas purchased at Rath's Mini Mart in Laurel was dated the same day, at 7:49 p.m.

A third receipt in that backpack was for another gasoline purchase that had been prepaid earlier on August 3 at 4:41 p.m. at Cubby's in Laurel. It was for $30 worth of gasoline that he had previously purchased.

The name and number of the debit cards used for each purchase, Mann said: Jones\Jason A.

On the table with the black backpack, another red bag and a larger doll with long hair were found. Investigators initially took both bags but left the doll behind. It was only when Ebeling's fiancé, Brian Welch, returned home a few days later and saw the doll on the table that investigators realized the doll did not belong to Ebeling. They returned to the house to take the doll as evidence.

Defense attorney Matthew McDonald asked Mann about the doll during his cross-examination, asking if investigators knew that Carrie Jones, Jason Jones' wife, had a doll collection. Mann said he knew about the collection and that Carrie Jones once mentioned having a doll in her house across the street from Ebeling's house, as if she wanted to keep watch over it. They believe Carrie Jones, McDonald told the court, was in Ebeling's house the night she was murdered.

The doll, which was dressed in a one-piece “snowsuit”-like suit, was removed from the evidence bag and shown to the jury. Burn marks were visible on the toy.

Jones, 44, is charged with four counts each of premeditated murder and use of a firearm to commit a crime, as well as two counts of arson. He is accused of shooting the Twifords and Ebeling in their homes in Laurel, Nebraska, in the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 2022, and then setting each home on fire. If he is found guilty of premeditated murder, prosecutors will seek the death penalty, they have said.

Jones' trial was moved from Cedar County, where the crime occurred, to Dakota County after Judge Meismer ruled that Jones would have a difficult time getting a fair trial from a jury there. Jones will remain out of the courtroom throughout the trial. A July court ruling granted his request not to appear in person for the hearing because Jones cannot sit for long periods of time due to the burns he suffered the night of the shooting.

Jones' wife, Carrie Jones, is facing charges for the murders. She pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and aiding and abetting a crime. Her next hearing is scheduled for November in Cedar County District Court.

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