Man beat 18-year-old with hammer, then dumped her body in ravine, Texas cops say
_fitted.png "Police have arrested a man they say confessed to killing 18-year-old Deja Hood.")
Police in Texas have arrested a man they say confessed to killing an 18-year-old woman, then dumping her body in a ravine.
Dejah Hood was reported missing by her mother after she was last seen Monday, Sept. 25, according to an arrest affidavit.
Her body was found the next day in a ravine behind an apartment complex in Tyler, according to the arrest affidavit.
Family and friends took to social media to share their grief about the tragic incident.
“I’m SO SORRY this happened to you! Last time we talked you talked about wanting to go to college and do hair. The fact that somebody took that away from you.. God I don’t understand it,” one Facebook user wrote.
“Such A Beautiful Soul Gone Way Too Soon… I Pray For Peace & Justice,” another post said.
Hood attended John Tyler High School, according to her Facebook page.
“I just now learned one of my recent former students was murdered. The world will be a bit dimmer without De’Jah. Or as I called her, ‘Miss Hood.’ Shine bright, angel,” one person posted.
Jamaurea Jermaine Britton, 19, of Tyler, was charged with murder, according to the arrest affidavit.
“The last place she was seen was here at this apartment with a male,” Tyler Police Department Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh told KLTV. “We got conflicted stories from the man where he last saw her. So, we came out here to investigate. The family had been out here. We were out here a couple hours when one of our sergeants found a body behind this building behind me wrapped in cloth.”
Police say Britton told them he killed Hood, then wrapped up her body and dumped it behind his apartment complex, the arrest affidavit said.
Hood was reported missing Sept. 26 just after midnight after her mother said she couldn’t get in touch with her. The mother told police Hood went out with her friends Monday. She remembered Britton as one of those friends and gave his phone number to police, according to the arrest affidavit.
When officers called Britton, he told them he picked Hood up Monday so she could help him pack because he was moving soon. Hood also had a 1-year-old child with her who she was babysitting, the arrest affidavit said.
Britton told police Hood and the baby left his apartment with someone else, however, police later determined that story to be false, according to the arrest affidavit.
As police were talking with Britton in his apartment, they noticed black spray paint on the walls and carpet. Britton told police it was done by his ex, but as police looked closer they found blood spots, the arrest affidavit said.
Eventually, Britton confessed to killing Hood in a “fit of rage,” according to the arrest affidavit.
“He was in the kitchen alone, thinking about his ex-girlfriend and the breakup he had just suffered recently,” the affidavit said. “While Britton was alone with his thoughts, he became angrier and angrier. Britton explained how Hood approached him and playfully tugged on his ear, which is something his ex-girlfriend would do.”
Britton told police he beat Hood with a hammer, then strangled her.
Britton told police, according to the arrest affidavit, that he was prepared to take his own life but “heard a knock at the door and responded.” He went on to say how he covered the body before answering the door.
“The person knocking was asking what the ‘commotion’ was,” the arrest affidavit said. “Britton provided an answer that he was okay, and the bystander left.”
Britton told police then he packed up the baby and took the child to Hood’s mother. When Britton returned home, he heard Hood calling his name and realized she was still alive. He then stabbed her multiple times, the arrest affidavit said.
Police said they located Hood’s body behind a safety fence and found evidence at the scene.
Britton also faces a charge of terroristic threat of family/household. He was given a $1.05 million bond, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
This story was originally published September 28, 2023 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Man beat 18-year-old with hammer, then dumped her body in ravine, Texas cops say."
