Abilene sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing, killing grandmother

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – An Abilene man who pleaded to stabbing and killing his grandmother has been sentenced to serve 20 years in prison.

Joel Thomas received his 20-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to Murder in connection to the death of 68-year-old Judi Jones, who was killed inside her apartment on the 2500 block of Alamo Drive in June 2021.

Court documents reveal police were called to the apartment and found Thomas lying on her living room floor, deceased from an apparent stabbing.

Investigators quickly identified Thomas, her grandson, as a possible suspect and located him at a local motel along with his 10-year-old son.

Once transported to the police station for questioning, the 10-year-old son told detectives that as he was leaving the house, “he noticed that his grandmother had been into an altercation and was covered with blood in her living room,” according to the documents.

The documents also state Thomas admitted to hurting his grandmother, telling police he hit her with a metal microphone stand during an argument until she started bleeding, but he wasn’t aware she had died.

“He further stated that the blood was coming out in an unbelievable amount like in the the movies,” the documents claim.

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