A district judge in northeast Nebraska has moved the trial of a man charged with a 2022 quadruple murder in Laurel from Cedar County to nearby Dakota County because of the extensive publicity on the case.
Judge Bryan Meismer says Cedar County is so small it would be hard to pick an impartial jury for Jason Jones.
Jones is charged with 10 felonies, including 4 counts of 1st-degree murder for the August 22 shooting deaths of Gene, Janet, and Dana Twiford and Michele Ebeling. He’s also accused of setting fire to the homes of his victims.
Judge Meismer ruled that the information gathered from a preliminary jury questionnaire indicates that the case remains fresh in the minds of Cedar County’s 8,300 residents, even a year later.
Another factor was that Cedar County already has a jury trial for a major felony this calendar year, further complicating the task of accumulating a qualified jury pool.
The Dakota County courthouse is only about 60 miles away and has both 21,000 residents and two courtrooms, which would minimize the scheduling disruptions to Dakota County cases. Jason Jones’ trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 9, and will likely last three weeks.