A Texas man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly confessed to beating a high schooler with a hammer, strangling her and then stabbing her to death when he realized she was still alive in an apparent “fit of rage.”
Jamaurea Jermaine Britton, 19, was charged with murder after officers found the body of 18-year-old Dejah Hood in a creek bed behind his apartment building in Tyler, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported.
Hood, a student at John Tyler High School, was reported missing by family members at 12:40 a.m. Tuesday after she had gone out with friends — including Britton — Monday evening and didn’t return home or respond to calls and texts, according to the outlet.
Officers who arrived at Britton’s apartment to question him around 1 p.m. Tuesday noticed blood in his apartment and found her body wrapped in trash bags, tape and a bedsheet behind the Hollytree Apartments complex, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the local newspaper.
The suspect eventually confessed to killing the teen and disposing of her body and told police a detailed account of his horrific actions.
He said he picked up Hood and a 1-year-old baby who she was babysitting from her apartment Monday night so she could help him pack for a move.
Once back at his place, Britton said he was alone in the kitchen and began thinking about his recent breakup with his now ex-girlfriend and grew “angrier and angrier,” according to the affidavit.
He said Hood walked over to him and “playfully tugged on his ear,” which was something his ex would often do.
The action sent Britton into what he described as a “fit of rage” and he told cops he grabbed a glass bottle which he used to whack Hood in the back of the head, sending her falling to the ground, the document states.
He then allegedly punched and strangled her, he told officers, before using a hammer to hit her in the head over and over again until its wooden handle snapped off, according to the affidavit.
Britton then attempted to kill himself with a knife but failed and then held a gun — which he had bought earlier that day — to his head when a neighbor knocked on the door, according to his statements to police.
Britton covered the body and answered the door. The person had heard a commotion and was checking to see if he was alright, the document states.
After assuring the person he was OK, the alleged killer remembered the 1-year-old baby watching a movie on his bed and decided to bring the child to the victim’s mother’s house, he told police.
When he returned home, he told cops that he heard Hood calling his name, according to the affidavit.
He allegedly stabbed her multiple times after he realized she was still alive, the document states.
Britton then wrapped and taped her body and carried it out of his apartment around 3 a.m. and threw her remains over a fence “out of sight” and returned around 7 a.m. to cover the body with leaves, police said in the affidavit.
Britton was arrested and charged with murder and terroristic threat of family/household.
He is being held on $1.05 million bond in the Smith County Jail, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
