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A jury convicted a Texas defendant involved in the 2015 shooting deaths of 8 people, including 6 children. Reports said he will serve life in prison without parole. The child’s mother informed a news outlet that at least one of the children was shot 14 times. The report said that deaths included defendant David Conley’s ex-girlfriend Valerie Jackson and her husband Dewayne Jackson. The slain children included Conley’s own 13-years, old son. The man who was killed was the father of the other 5 children. The authorities said all of the children had long suffered abuse at the hands of both Conley and Dewayne Jackson. All of Conley’s victims, including the 2 slain adults had been shot in the head. The convicted killer’s estranged wife, Vernessa Conley said, “He is the Devil”.

The news outlet reported that 54-years old killer was spared the death penalty because state and defense experts in Texas had declared him to have an intellectual disability. The US Supreme Court has ruled that such defendants can’t be executed. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg issued a statement and asked, “How could anyone look into the eyes of children handcuffed to their beds and slaughter them one by one? We are forever indebted to the jurors who listened to the excruciating evidence, thoughtfully deliberated, and delivered justice”. All of the children had been temporarily removed from the home by Child Protective Services because of alleged abuse in 2013, but Judge Glenn Devlin ordered them returned to the home just a month later.

The court also ordered Valerie Jackson and David Conley to participate in domestic violence counseling and random drug testing. CPS subsequently made periodic visits to the home until the case was closed in May 2014. Then on Aug. 8, 2015, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office received multiple 911 calls requesting a welfare check at a home in the northwest portion of the county. The sheriff’s office later received criticism for not entering the home until their 4^th visit, when they finally spotted a child’s body while looking in a window. The sheriff’s office claimed deputies didn’t have enough information to enter the home during prior visits. 4 deputies entered the home and were immediately fired upon, prompting them to leave, after spotting the dead child during the 4^th visit.