MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A Madison County jury deliberated for about six hours Friday before finding Domanek Jackson, guilty of robbery, but not capital murder or felony murder in the 2018 stabbing death of Tiffany Kelley.
The jury had a number of questions for the court over two days focusing on complicity and aiding and abetting — apparently trying to sort out Jackson’s criminal liability. The case had two defendants, but only Jackson was on trial this week, and X’Zavier Scott, who is also charged testified he killed Kelley, not Jackson.
Madison County Circuit Judge Karen Hall told jurors that aiding and abetting means providing help or some kind of encouragement toward the commission of a crime. She said the complicity standard on the capital murder charge required that both defendants intended to kill Kelley, along with stealing her car.
Madison County Assistant District Attorney Randy Dill said they had hoped for a different verdict.
“Of course we respect the jury’s decision,” Dill said. “We put a lot of work into this case, definitely we were hoping for a different result. But ultimately the jury has the right and the duty to decide and we respect their decision.”
Jackson was charged with capital murder, nearly four years ago, along with Scott . Jackson was 16 at the time when she and Scott allegedly approached Kelley in the parking lot of a Dollar General and asked her for a ride.
Prosecutors pointed to earlier statements when Jackson admitted that she was the one who did the stabbing.
Kelley was found on Green Cove Road on September 22, 2018. Authorities say the pair stabbed her, dumped her body and stole her car, driving home to Clarke County.
Deputies would later find Jackson and Scott in Clarke County, Alabama and extradited them back to the Madison County Jail on September 28, 2018.
Because of Jackson’s age at the time of the incident, much of the court record involving her cas has been kept confidential.
At the time, police said Tiffany Kelley was acting as a good Samaritan when she agreed to give the pair a ride. Investigators said she was on her way home to pick up some items before driving Scott and Jackson to their destination.
Authorities reported that Kelley was about to turn into her mobile home community she was stabbed multiple times and pushed out of her car.
The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office said deputies found Scott and the 16-year-old girl, who initially claimed she had been kidnapped. Authorities believed Scott and Jackson had been living in Huntsville for about two weeks. They said the two hitchhiked from Clarke County.
Scott has not had a trial of his own yet.
Jury deliberations initially had a delayed start Friday morning after one juror told the court that they were ill and an alternate had to be brought in.
Judge Hall denied Jackson’s request for bond and said she would set a sentencing date within 30 days.
New 19 has crews at the Madison County Courthouse and will continue to update this story as it develops.
