JEB DALY
NORTHAMPTON — A Huntington man charged with killing his live-in girlfriend and hiding her body in a cardboard box has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and misleading police.
Jeb Daly said in Hampshire Superior Court yesterday that he decided to plead guilty to spare both families the “circus” of a trial. A second-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Prosecutors say the 38-year-old Daly beat and strangled 30-year-old Jessica Dana at their Huntington home in June of 2012 following an argument over money and Daly’s drug use. Dana had three children, two of them fathered by Daly.
Daly claimed Dana left the house on her own, but her body was found behind the house wrapped in blankets and put inside a cardboard box.
Judge Bertha Josephson sentenced Daly to life in prison on the murder conviction, and imposed a concurrent 5-7 year state prison sentence on the misleading conviction.
Daly will be remanded to MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole, Massachusetts. The earliest he would become eligible for parole is 2027, after having served 15 years.
Daly, who was represented by Alan Rubin of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, admitted to the truth of the facts read in court by Chief Trial Counsel Jeremy Bucci, who prosecuted the case. Bucci said that after arguing with Dana on the evening of June 22, 2012, Daly inflicted blunt-force injuries to the back of her head and strangled her, breaking three bones in her neck. Following the murder, Daly wrapped Dana’s body in towels and trash bags, placed her body inside a cardboard box, then covered the box with a tarp and brush in the couple’s backyard. He later lied to her family members and to the police, saying she had left the house on foot after their argument, leaving her three young children behind. Two of the children were Daly’s and Dana’s; one was Dana’s from a previous relationship.
On June 24, 2012, friends of Dana’s found her body in the backyard as Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office were questioning Daly inside the residence. Daly fled into nearby woods, but was apprehended later that evening.
Dana’s mother, Cheryl Stoothoff, read several victim impact statements in court during the plea hearing, one of which she had written and several others from family members, all of which described Dana as a loving and devoted mother, as well as a kind and generous family member and friend.
“By all accounts, Jessica Dana was a devoted mother who loved her children more than anything in this world. This murder is a tragic example of how domestic violence can destroy a family,” ADA Bucci said. “While we understand that nothing will stop the pain and loss Ms. Dana’s family feels, our hope is that today’s proceedings, having held Mr. Daly accountable for Ms. Dana’s murder, might bring some measure of closure to her family.”
