Woman Pleads Not Guilty to Killing the Co-Founder of Butterfly Farms
VISTA (CNS) – A woman who allegedly killed a man whose body was found inside her Solana Beach home on New Year’s Day pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a murder charge.
Jade Sasha Janks, 37, is accused in the death of 64-year-old Thomas Merriman, the co-founder of Butterfly Farms, an Encinitas nonprofit organization focused on the conservation and study of native butterflies.
Sheriff’s deputies sent to the defendant’s home in the 100 block of Nardo Avenue on the afternoon of Jan. 1 to check on Merriman’s welfare found his body inside the residence and took Janks into custody, San Diego County sheriff’s Lt. Thomas Seiver said.
A suspected motive for the murder was not disclosed, nor the relationship, if any, between Janks and Merriman.
The criminal complaint indicates the killing took place on Dec. 31 but does not state Merriman’s cause of death.
