The Arizona man who flagged down a deputy in the centre of the street last week admits to killing his stepfather and is accused of shooting him in a dispute about the Bible, the government said.
Jay Albert Stevens, who is 52, told Cochise County sheriff’s deputies that he killed his stepfather, Mark Kilbourne, who is 61, after an issue on Wednesday afternoon in which Kilbourne accused Stevens of never having studied the Bible or understood it; the sheriff’s office stated in a statement of probable cause.
The argument escalated in the garage of the house Stevens and Kilbourne shared. Stevens then went to his bedroom, where he “stewed” for numerous hours before he faced Kilbourne with a 40 calibre handgun in the living room, the statement alleged.
Stevens stood within five ft of Kilbourne, sitting in a chair and shot him once in the chest, the statement claimed. Kilbourne was not dead after the primary shot; Stevens then shot his stepfather in the chest a second time before he punched him in the face, which was due to anger and rage,” it stated.
Deputies stated Stevens then dragged his stepfather out of the residence to bury him; however, he decided he was too lazy to dig a big enough hole and knew he could be caught.
Stevens then took his dogs to his sister’s residence and told her that he had killed Kilbourne, advising her to call the sheriff’s office to arrest him, the sheriff’s declaration stated.
Then, Stevens walked into the centre of the roadway at around 1 a.m. MT and flagged down a Cochise County deputy.
The sheriff’s office stated that Kilbourne was in Stevens’ life for over 20 years. About four years ago, at Kilbourne’s request, Stevens moved from Washington to Arizona to help care for his mom earlier than she died. Stevens made it clear to detectives that he disliked” his stepfather, including that it had been “a whole lot of years putting up with his s***,” the government stated.
He has been arrested; the arrest was made early Thursday and charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of abandonment or concealment of a dead body, the Cochise County Attorney’s Office stated. He is being held on a $1 million bond at the Cochise County Jail.
Stevens’ attorney, Sara Xochitl Orozco, had nothing to say
Stevens is expected to be arraigned in weeks. However, no official date has been set; County Attorney Brian McIntyre stated
