An Evansville jury found a man guilty of murder for fatally shooting his mother, Shanay Michell Hunt, in a crime police said he carried out with a pistol purchased through Facebook.
The 12-member jury’s guilty verdict, rendered July 24, comes after 30-year-old Jaron A. Wells’ first trial for the 2023 killing ended in February with jurors failing to reach a unanimous decision, prompting Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge Ryan Hatfield to declare a mistrial.
Hatfield also presided over Wells’ second trial, which spanned four days. After jurors found Wells guilty of murder, he pleaded guilty to a “firearm enhancement,” according to Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers, which is likely to increase the duration of his sentence.
“My office has worked hard for justice on this case,” Moers said in a statement. “After a hung jury in the first trial with just one juror holding out, we stuck with it and presented a plethora of overwhelming evidence to secure a conviction at a second jury trial.”
For Evansville police, Wells’ conviction has been a longtime coming.
A U.S. Marshals Service task force first arrested Wells in Carrier Mills, Illinois, weeks after an Evansville man found Hunt’s remains inside a dilapidated home in the 1000 block of Harriet Street on July 14, 2023. The man noticed an order emanating from the home and, when he entered, found Hunt’s body lying on a mattress, according to Wells’ arrest affidavit.
Detectives described the Harriet Street home as being “in a complete state of disarray” with trash strewn about and “several holes in the floor and walls.”
Hunt, 45, “had a passion for life and carried a profound love for God in her heart,” her obituary states. “Her life wasn’t always easy, but she found a way to always keep pushing forward with a resilient smile on her face.”
The Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office determined Hunt suffered a fatal gunshot wound to her head. Evansville Police Department Det. Caleb Wiseman, writing in Well’s arrest affidavit, stated that a medical examiner recovered a .45-caliber projectile from the wound that bore markings showing it had been fired from a type of handgun Wells owned at the time of the killing.
In addition to evidence recovered from electronic devices and Wells’ social media accounts, that .45-caliber ammunition – an uncommon make known as Glock Auto Pistol – helped investigators link Wells to his mother’s killing, prosecutors said.
Crime scene detectives recovered a .45-caliber Glock Auto Pistol round from the crime scene and an analysis of Wells’ cellphone turned up internet searches for “45 gap bullets” and queries about where he could purchase the ammunition.
Photographs obtained from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, showed Wells sent images in June 2023 depicting a Glock 38 handgun chambered in .45-caliber Glock Auto Pistol.
“Regular 45s won’t work in it,” Wells wrote in one Facebook message discussing the weapon, according to police.
The Indiana State Police later determined the projectile recovered from Hunt’s body displayed marks indicating it had been fired from a handgun with right-twist rifling, according to Wells’ arrest affidavit. Glock 38 pistols utilize right-twist, clockwise rifling to impart spin on the bullet as it is fired, increasing accuracy and range,
Facebook records showed Wells first expressed an interest in purchasing a Glock 38 handgun chambered in .45-caliber Glock Auto Pistol on June 5, when a man messaged Wells to ask if he was interested in purchasing a firearm.
“[Wells] stated he would ask his mom, Shanay Hunt, to see if he could borrow some money,” Well’s arrest affidavit states.
Less than a week later, investigators said Wells sent a photo of his new Glock 38 pistol to a friend, boasting that it was chambered in a “rare” caliber.
Wells’ internet search history, his communications with witnesses, electronic evidence and a note recovered shortly after his arrest also linked Wells to his mother’s killing, prosecutors argued.
When police arrested Wells in Carrier Mills on July 14, 2023, officers found a note inside the home Wells had been staying in that prosecutors said amounted to a confession of sorts. The note, which was scrawled in a small, blue journal, described Wells as having done something that would leave his sister devastated and disgusted with him — and that left him without a living parent.
The timeframe described in the note lined up with the day and date investigators believe Wells shot and killed his mother. A handwriting analyst determined the writing in the journal was a match for Wells.
“At the retrial, Deputy Prosecutor Ian Blair presented medical forensic evidence, surveillance videos, testimony regarding the gun and ammunition, expert firearms testimony matching the gun and discovered casing, phone data, location data, handwriting analysis and testimony from the victim’s family and friends,” Moers’ office stated. “The jury found Wells guilty as charged.”
According to court records, Hatfield is scheduled to sentence Wells during a hearing Sept. 16. He faces a possible sentence of 45 to 65 years for murder and five to 20 years for the firearm enhancement.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Prosecutors cite ‘overwhelming evidence’ against man found guilty of killing his mother
Reporting by Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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