Tucson man found gulity of killing wife and her 2 children
A Tucson man accused of killing his estranged wife and her two children was found guilty of the three murders on Monday by a jury in Pima County Superior Court.
John Edward James, 47, was accused of killing his wife, Willona White, 44, and her two children, 14-year-old Jaiden White, and 18-year-old Talmadge Holmes in the summer of 2021. According to the verdicts rendered on Monday, the jury found "proven beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a domestic violence relationship" between James and the three victims.
On July 1, 2021, Tucson Police officers went to a residence near Stella and Prudence roads after receiving reports of a medical emergency and found White and her two sons dead and with multiple gunshot wounds. Each were in their bedroom, according to court records.
A neighbor told police he heard about 17 gunshots followed by a car speeding away between 11 and 11:30 p.m. that night.
Police said evidence suggested James entered the backyard through the back door that was unlocked and then came inside the house through a window with access to the office. Officers found many 9 mm cartridge cases that authorities later determined were fired by the same gun.
White's parents, William and Belinda White, found their daughter's and grandsons' bodies the next morning when they arrived at their home after making arrangements with her the night before.
Willona White's parents called 911 and told officers about James' "extensive history" of domestic violence against White and her two sons.
According to court records, at the time of the incident, James was on pretrial release from a 2019 assault case against White that involved a firearm.
Police later found James while he was leaving his residence and arrested him for an outstanding DIU warrant. James said during his interview with police he did not kill White and her children.
Police later found another address associated with James where they found a woman who said she was romantically involved with James. The woman told police James left the house at about 2:30 p.m. on the day of the murder and returned at midnight.
At about 5 p.m. in the evening of the incident, White called a friend and told them "she just ended the relationship and she is now afraid for her life," according to court records.
Evidence gathered from James' phone show that he recorded a song on his phone later that same evening. The lyrics were "I will load up my pistol with teeth from a pit-bull," which he repeated for nearly a minute. White had three dogs at home, including a pitbull that was "very protective" of her, court records state.
After a year-long investigation, Tucson Police formally charged James on June 15, 2022, with three counts of first-degree murder. He was being held on a $1 million bond.
James' trial started on May 2 and ended on Monday. The sentencing following the jury's verdict is set to take place on June 12.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tucson man found gulity of killing wife and her 2 children
