LANCASTER, Pennsylvania – A man accused of killing six family members confessed to the killings two days before police recovered the bodies from the basement of the family home, the suspect's girlfriend testified Friday at his preliminary hearing.
Jesse D. "Jay" Wise Jr., made his admission to girlfriend Jackie Boots as he drove her to a fast-food restaurant, Boots said.
Wise, 21, is charged with killing his grandmother, two aunts and three other relatives in April in the Leola, Pennsylvania, home they shared. District Justice Denise Commins determined there was sufficient evidence against him to forward the case to Lancaster County court.
The victims, ages 5 to 64, were discovered April 12 in the home's basement, wrapped in blankets. The coroner said they died from blunt-force trauma, and search warrant documents indicated one had been stabbed.
Boots said the two were alone in the vehicle when he told her "that he had a vehicle now, he didn't have anything to worry about, and that me and (their baby) Shaniqua would be together and that he killed them."
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox