JEB DALY
NORTHAMPTON – Huntington resident Jeb Daly appeared in Hampshire Superior Court Tuesday and will likely face a trial in August on charges that he murdered his girlfriend Jessica Dana.
In June, the body of Dana, 30, was found behind the Rocky Brook Road home the couple shared. Dana’s body was wrapped in bed sheets and stuffed in a large swimming pool box covered with a tarp.
Dana had three children, two of which were also Daly’s children.
Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Bucci told Judge Mary-Lou Rup that he planned to file a motion compelling Daly to give a DNA sample. Rup asked Daly’s lawyer Allan Rubin if he had finished discovery yet. Both attorneys said they were waiting for the autopsy report and a court date of Jan. 15 was set to argue any motions.
Daly pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Hampshire Superior Court Sept. 7 on charges of murder and misleading police in connection with the murder of Dana.
Following Daly’s arraignment, Bucci released a statement of the case, disclosing details previously held during the investigation.
The statement’s factual summary includes acknowledgment of Daly’s cocaine habit, which was a source of contention for the couple, as was their financial situation.
“The couple had borrowed money from the victim’s parents to help move into the 8 Rocky Brook Drive residence and had been making small payments to repay her parents,” Bucci stated. “Meanwhile, however, the defendant had not been paying rent regularly and had been given an eviction notice by the landlord. Additionally, the defendant had recently had a federal tax lien levied against him for failure to pay income tax.”
The week of Dana’s murder, a large sum of money was taken from Daly’s check toward the lien and he told Dana’s mother he could not make a payment.
Bucci stated that the couple had friends over to drink June 22 and when her mother found out, she was upset that they had a party but could not pay her. Daly promised her a payment the next morning. When she arrived, Daly was home with the three children and he told her Dana had left the night before voluntarily after a fight.
He was the last person to see her alive, according to Bucci.
Daly continues to be held without the right to bail. He has been in custody since June 24.
