Jacob Ind re-sentenced to 60 years for Teller County murders

Jacob Ind was sentenced to 60 years in prison after a murder case was refiled against him for the deaths of his mother and stepfather in 1992.

Ind was found guilty of slaying two family members 25 years ago and was granted a new a trial earlier this year, but he abandoned the trial and pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in November.

Ind was 16 when he was arrested for the murders of his mother and stepfather in 1992. It was considered by many to be one of the most brutal murders in Southern Colorado’s history. Detailed accounts say that he and another teenage friend shot, stabbed, and sprayed bear mace on his parents.

Now 40, he was granted a new trial after evidence arose that his attorney violated his rights by keeping him from testifying.

Reports say Ind claims the motivation behind the killings stemmed from years of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Ind also says he never got to speak about that abuse on his own in court, which is why his new attorney’s requested the new trial.

He was originally found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole, despite the murders happening when he was a minor.

His current time served will apply to his new sentence.

(FRIDAY, JULY 6)

A man found guilty of slaying two family members as a teen 25 years ago, faced a Teller County judge Friday.

Judge Linda Billings-Vela sent the case of Jacob Ind, 40, back to juvenile court, because he was a juvenile when arrested for the murders of his mother and stepfather in 1992.

Billings-Vela also scheduled a three-day hearing to begin Aug. 27, during which she’ll decide whether the case should remain in juvenile court or district court.

Earlier this year, a judge granted Ind a new trial when it became known that his attorney at his murder trial violated his rights by keeping him from testifying. Ind was tried as an adult in the case.

Because Ind will now get a new trial, possibly this fall, his previous convictions no longer exist and the final verdict is in limbo.

However, Billings-Vela emphasized that Ind will remain in the Teller County Jail with no bond, saying there is enough probable cause to keep him behind bars.

She said the combination of time passed, circumstances, facts and changes in law since 1992 have created a unique situation for which there is no precedent.

“There is no previous case law to go by,” she said. “It’s my responsibility to follow the law and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Billings-Vela said if she rules at the next hearing that Ind should have been tried as a juvenile, she will decide what his bond should be.

Ind, wearing restraints, was escorted in to and out of the courtroom by a deputy.

(PREVIOUS STORY)

Jacob Ind admits: he killed his mother and stepfather when he was 15 years old, in 1992.

However, Ind, now 40, is getting another opportunity to tell his side of the story in court.

Jacob Ind appeared in a Teller County courtroom on Monday afternoon, where another hearing and arraignment were scheduled for him on July 6th.

The court proceedings finished up after just a few minutes, and nearly the entire time, Ind stared out the window behind him as he sat next to his attorneys. That behavior, likely, because Ind has not been a free person since he was 15 years old.

In December of 1992, Ind killed his mother, Pamela Jordan, and his stepfather, Kermode Jordan.

This is a crime he has admitted to, and to this day, Ind has never denied that he was responsible for the death of his parents in Woodland Park.

Detailed accounts say that he and another teenage friend shot, stabbed, and sprayed bear mace on his parents in the early morning hours of the day the two were murdered.

Both victims were killed in the brutal attack.

Many people throughout the last 25 years have referred to the crime as one of the most brutal murder cases in southern Colorado’s history. The case, now, in the spotlight again.

Ind is making his way through the court system again after he was granted a new trial last October.

A judge found that during Ind’s trial in 1994, Ind’s attorney kept him from the stand, depriving him of his constitutional rights. His attorney, Shaun Kaufman, spoke about the case a few years later.

“His demeanor at trial, due to the fact that he was an abuse victim, was flat,” defense attorney Shaun Kaufman told journalist Alan Prendergast in 1998. “He wouldn’t have been a fabulous advocate. He wouldn’t have cried for his parents. He wouldn’t have shown any remorse.”

In his first trial, Ind was convicted of first-degree murder, and though he was just 16 at the time, he was tried as an adult and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

However, reports say Ind claims the motivation behind the killings stemmed from years of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Ind also says he never got to speak about that abuse on his own in court, which is why his new attorney’s requested the new trial.

During the first trial, it was revealed that Ind felt he had no other option than to kill his parents or continue suffering.

As Ind left the courtroom on Monday, KRDO NewsChannel 13’s Kasey Kershner asked if he had any comment on the case.

“No ma’am, not right now,” he replied as he walked through the hallway of the Teller County courthouse.

Ind will be in court again on July 6th at 9:30. The official start date of his retrial is yet to be set.